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Deepti Sri · · 1 min readReport: Tencent temporarily halts new sign-ups on Chinese version of WeChat
“Tencent has temporarily halted new sign-ups to the widely used Chinese version of its WeChat messaging app, in a sign of how Beijing’s tightening regulatory net is affecting the country’s tech giants,” Nikkei reported.
Details:
- Tencent said that it has suspended registrations for its Weixin app due to a security upgrade, which it is carrying out to adhere to the country’s latest legal requirements. However, the messaging app has previously conducted technology upgrades without having its operations interrupted.
- The company said that registrations are expected to resume after the completion of the security upgrade by early August. Meanwhile, its international sign-ups will be intact.
Dive deeper:
- Earlier this year, ByteDance’s Chinese short-video app Douyin filed a complaint with a court in Beijing to sue Tencent for monopolistic behavior and asked for 90 million yuan (US$13.94 million) in compensation.
- The suspension also comes amid increased scrutiny on China’s tech firms and the way they use personal data. Recently, Didi’s US shares plunged 20% just hours after China’s cyberspace regulator banned the ride-hailing giant from all app stores on grounds of an alleged breach in data protection rules.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Jaclyn Tiu
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