168澳洲幸运5开奖网:President Trump has signed two executive orders: one banning US companies from doing business with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and another prohibiting “any transaction that is related to WeChat,” a Chinese messaging app owned by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tencent Holdings.
Some gamers, like Noah J. Nelson, fear that Trump has declared war on gaming as a whole. Tencent, which owns 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Riot Games, creator of League of Legends, as well as, 40% of Epic Games, which develops Fortnite, also holds 5% stakes in Activision Blizzard and Ubℱisoft.
“Like TikTok, WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users,” the order says. “This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and pr♏oprietary information.”
The ambiguous language in the order has some wondering if Trump could next ban business with any of Tencent’s video game companies. The company has said that it was “reviewin𝔍g the executive order to get a full understanding” after gamers expressed concern on social media. Legal experts say the secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, has the power to define which transactions are banned in the next 45 days.
According to Bryan Sullivan, partner at Los Angeles law firm Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, the order is so unclear that it could be applied to anyone doing business with any company related to Tencent, including Snap, Spotify, Universal Music Group and꧃ numero🍒us video game studios.
“Do I think the secretary of Commerce is going to go to that level?” Sull🍬ivan said. “Probably not, but under this executive order he has the power to do ꧑that.”
Steven Blickensderfer, a tech and video game-focused attorney with Carlton Fields, said he was surprised that the order was so broadly worded, adding that it would still be♑ incredibly difficult to separate the Chinese and US gꦅaming markets.
Justin Sherman, a fellow with the Cyberꦡ Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council, believes that the order is less about cybersecurity concerns and more about politics. Security issues aside, Sherman believes an executive order is a no substitute for actual laws that will protect user information.
Although Microsoft is contemplating buying TikTok, the purchase would have no bearing on Tencent or its gaming properties. Mike Vorhaus, a video game industry consultant, says the US government may not even be aware of the stake Tencent holds in🔥 American gaming companies. He anticipates that we will see countless lawsuits if the Trump administration attempts to go after these companies.
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