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Tencent is making large moves into youth-targeting western media. They are also the world's largest gaming company; League of Legends, PUBG, et cetera are Tence

Tencent is making large moves into youth-targeting western media. They are also the world's largest gaming company; League of Legends, PUBG, et cetera are Tencent properties. For instance, they own something like 40% of Epic Games, who is currently throwing large envelopes of cash around to secure a strong position in video game distribution. If there is cause to be concerned about China applying soft power to sway western opinions, then there is cause to be concerned about Tencent.

NicoJuicy 8y ago
I'm increasingly concerned about this and so are others. I have never talked about my brother about this, but they had banned TikTok for their daughter because it was Chinese owned.
sodosopa 8y ago
related: > Reddit confirms $300M Series D led by China’s Tencent at $3B value https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/reddit-300-million/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/reddit-300-million/
HenryBemis 8y ago
Epic runs Fortnite, that allegedly made $3bn profit in 2018 [1]. That is not a small feat, plus they have a foothold in millions of machines. And from the dialogue we had in HN a few days ago on how Fortnite was accessing/scanning steam friends it seems that they are pretty greedy to map out any relationships they can. [1]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/12/27/fortnite-developer-reportedly-earned-3-billion-in-profits-in-2018/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/12/27/fortnite-de...
- Gaelan 8y ago
  IIRC they read Steam friends but did not do anything with the data without consent.
  - Joakal 8y ago
    And? Just because they read non-Epic game files without consent and do nothing, doesn't mean they're not going to pull a facebook.
    - godelski 8y ago
      Not to mention that it just poses a security risk, to YOU (the consumer). More places that have your data means more ways for it to leak. Don't just blow this off as "oh but they aren't using it" (to GP, not parent). If you're going to gather data, there needs to be a reason. Hoarding it can be dangerous.
      - comex 8y ago
        AFAIK, the Epic launcher copied the data to a different location on the user’s disk, but didn’t transmit it over the Internet. So the data wasn’t “gathered” in the way you’re suggesting.
est 8y ago
> concerned about China applying soft power to sway western opinions China blocked Google/Twitter/Facebook with the the same logic.
- chibg10 8y ago
  That's not really the full story though. The CCP was worried about the passive soft power of an uncensored internet. The concern stated here is for soft power resulting from the active influence campaigns and censorship originating from the CCP.
  - sorryforthethro 8y ago
    Can Google/Facebook/Twitter be considered "uncensored internet"? To what degree is a culture's view of moderate speech different than its influence of "soft power"?
    - dleslie 8y ago
      It's not seperable. The spread of one's cultural values by way of dominating media is a tried and true application of soft power.
      - throwaway8508 8y ago
        That’s why films and TV shows are so powerful. Hollywood is the greatest weapon of American soft power.
        bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
        And that's why you see so much Chinese influence in Hollywood.
      - ralusek 8y ago
        Or they could, you know, be a neutral search engine.
house_atr 8y ago
Funny. When I get concerned about Western soft power that is currently very real, not just plausible, westerners are incredulous. Especially when it comes to space exploration you always hear the narrative as "humanity colonizing mars" when that's utterly not true. The west is colonizing Mars and if it goes well for them then that's another planet to add to their civilization. Have fun dealing with that.

NicoJuicy 8y ago

I'm increasingly concerned about this and so are others. I have never talked about my brother about this, but they had banned TikTok for their daughter because it was Chinese owned.

sodosopa 8y ago

related: > Reddit confirms $300M Series D led by China’s Tencent at $3B value https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/reddit-300-million/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/reddit-300-million/

HenryBemis 8y ago

Epic runs Fortnite, that allegedly made $3bn profit in 2018 [1]. That is not a small feat, plus they have a foothold in millions of machines. And from the dialogue we had in HN a few days ago on how Fortnite was accessing/scanning steam friends it seems that they are pretty greedy to map out any relationships they can. [1]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/12/27/fortnite-developer-reportedly-earned-3-billion-in-profits-in-2018/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/12/27/fortnite-de...

Gaelan 8y ago
IIRC they read Steam friends but did not do anything with the data without consent.
- Joakal 8y ago
  And? Just because they read non-Epic game files without consent and do nothing, doesn't mean they're not going to pull a facebook.
  - godelski 8y ago
    Not to mention that it just poses a security risk, to YOU (the consumer). More places that have your data means more ways for it to leak. Don't just blow this off as "oh but they aren't using it" (to GP, not parent). If you're going to gather data, there needs to be a reason. Hoarding it can be dangerous.
    - comex 8y ago
      AFAIK, the Epic launcher copied the data to a different location on the user’s disk, but didn’t transmit it over the Internet. So the data wasn’t “gathered” in the way you’re suggesting.

est 8y ago

> concerned about China applying soft power to sway western opinions China blocked Google/Twitter/Facebook with the the same logic.

chibg10 8y ago
That's not really the full story though. The CCP was worried about the passive soft power of an uncensored internet. The concern stated here is for soft power resulting from the active influence campaigns and censorship originating from the CCP.
- sorryforthethro 8y ago
  Can Google/Facebook/Twitter be considered "uncensored internet"? To what degree is a culture's view of moderate speech different than its influence of "soft power"?
  - dleslie 8y ago
    It's not seperable. The spread of one's cultural values by way of dominating media is a tried and true application of soft power.
    - throwaway8508 8y ago
      That’s why films and TV shows are so powerful. Hollywood is the greatest weapon of American soft power.
      - bitxbitxbitcoin 8y ago
        And that's why you see so much Chinese influence in Hollywood.
    - ralusek 8y ago
      Or they could, you know, be a neutral search engine.

house_atr 8y ago

Funny. When I get concerned about Western soft power that is currently very real, not just plausible, westerners are incredulous. Especially when it comes to space exploration you always hear the narrative as "humanity colonizing mars" when that's utterly not true. The west is colonizing Mars and if it goes well for them then that's another planet to add to their civilization. Have fun dealing with that.