BREAKING: WeChat Suspends New User Registration to...

5 Minute Read

• Tencent's WeChat has temporarily suspended registration of new users as it undergoes a technical upgrade "to align with relevant laws and regulations", China's dominant instant messaging platform said on Tuesday.

•  It’s not immediately clear which law WeChat is citing in its announcement but the move comes amid a broad crackdown on tech firms by Chinese regulators. The crackdown has wiped billions of dollars in market cap for Chinese firms in recent weeks.

•  Why it matters: This is the first time Tencent has suspended new user registration for the ubiquitous app in China, which many people rely on for communication and other life services such as paying utility bills and shopping online.

Image Credits: Drew Angerer/ Getty Images

  'Temporarily suspended'  

BEIJING: Tencent's WeChat has temporarily suspended registration of new users as it undergoes a technical upgrade "to align with relevant laws and regulations", China's dominant instant messaging platform said on Tuesday.

"We are currently upgrading our security technology to align with all relevant laws and regulations," the company said in a statement to Reuters. "During this time, registration of new WeChat personal and official accounts has been temporarily suspended. Registration services will be restored after the upgrade is complete, which is expected in early August," the company said.

China is in the process of tightening its policy towards privacy and data security. It is readying a Personal Information Protection Law, which calls for tech platforms to impose stricter measures to ensure secure storage of user data.

 Crackdown 

It’s not immediately clear which law WeChat is citing in its announcement but the move comes amid a broad crackdown on tech firms by Chinese regulators. The crackdown has wiped billions of dollars in market cap for Chinese firms in recent weeks and many high-profile global investors including SoftBank are impacted by it.

This is the first time WeChat, which operates as a super-app in China, has had to take a step of this kind in more than a decade. In addition to offering a messaging service, Weixin also allows users to make online payments and access a range of financial services.

Some analysts believe that the Chinese government is concerned about the growing influence of tech firms in the country and also the privacy of its citizens’ data.

Earlier this month, China’s cybersecurity regulator ordered ride-hailing giant app Didi to stop signing up new users. That move had come days after Didi’s $4.4 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Didi’s app, which has been pulled from the app stores in China, illegally collected personal data of its customers, the regulator accused.

Sources: Channelnewsasia, Techcrunch, Reuters

https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/27/tencents-wechat-suspends-new-user-registration-in-china-to-comply-with-relevant-laws-and-regulations/

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