Tag: tencent

Tencent Begins Testing of Self-Developed AI Model; Integrates With Internal Services, Products

China’s Tencent Holdings said on Thursday that it has started internal testing of its self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, which is now being integrated with a number of internal services and products. 

In a statement sent to Reuters on Thursday, Tencent said its foundation AI model named “Hunyuan” has been integrated with a range of products such as Tencent Cloud, Tencent Meeting and Tencent Docs.

“The Tencent Hunyuan large model, completely developed by ourselves from scratch, has now entered the application testing phase within the company,” the company said.

This comes after Chinese regulators published a set on interim rules on generative AI last month, paving the way for Chinese tech companies such as Tencent and Alibaba to roll out products with AI features as soon as late August once they obtain approvals. 

AI has become a focus for Tencent in recent months. Reuters first reported the company’s effort to develop the Hunyuan model in February. In a call with analysts in May, Tencent said AI will be a signficant “growth multiplier”. 

On Thursday, Tencent also listed Tencent Games, Tencent Advertising, QQ Browser, WeChat Search and Tencent Fintech as lines of business that have been testing the Hunyuan model recently. 

“Initial effects have been achieved and more businesses and applications are in the process of being connected (to the model),” the Shenzhen-based company said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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China Announces Two-Hour Daily Limit on Children’s Phone Screen Time, Tech Shares Tumble

China’s cyberspace regulator said on Wednesday children under the age of 18 should be limited to a maximum of two hours a day on their smartphones, sending shares in tech companies tumbling.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it wanted providers of smart devices to introduce so-called minor mode programs that would bar users under 18 from accessing the internet on mobile devices from 10 pm to 6 am.

Providers would also have to set time limits under the proposed reforms, the CAC said.

Users aged 16 to 18 would be allowed two hours a day, children aged eight to 16 would get one hour while children under eight would be allowed just eight minutes.

But the CAC said service providers should allow parents to opt out of the time limits for their youngsters.

Investors were not impressed.

Shares in Chinese tech firms mostly fell in afternoon trade in Hong Kong after the CAC published its draft guidelines, which it said were open to public feedback until Sept. 2.

Bilibili and Kuaishou slid 6.98 percent and 3.53 percent respectively while Tencent Holdings, which operates the social network app WeChat, closed 2.99 percent lower.

Xia Hailong, a lawyer at the Shanghai Shenlun law firm, said the rules would be a headache for the internet companies.

“A lot of effort and additional costs to properly implement these new regulatory requirements,” he said.

“And the risk of non-compliance will also be very high. So I believe that many internet companies may consider directly prohibiting minors from using their services.”

Authorities have in recent years grown increasingly concerned about rates of myopia and internet addiction among young people.

In 2021, the government imposed a curfew for video game players under the age of 18. That dealt a huge blow to gaming giants like Tencent.

Video-sharing platforms like Bilibili, Kuaishou and ByteDance have since 2019 offered “teenage modes” that restrict the users’ access to content and the duration of use.

ByteDance’s TikTok-like app Douyin bars teenagers from using it for more than 40 minutes.

The proposed rules come after signals from Beijing that a years-long regulatory crackdown on its technology industry has ended. Authorities have said they will look to support the development of tech giants. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023 

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Microsoft to Let Call of Duty Stay on PlayStation After Activision Blizzard Deal

Microsoft has signed an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a tweet on Sunday.

A deal to keep Call of Duty on Playstation could further ease concerns surrounding the acquisition’s impact on competition.

Speaking on the agreement, Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a tweet, “Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before.”

The FTC had argued the deal would hurt consumers whether they played video games on consoles or had subscriptions because Microsoft would have an incentive to shut out rivals like Sony Group.

To address the FTC’s concerns, Microsoft had earlier agreed to license Call of Duty to rivals, including a 10-year contract with Nintendo, contingent on the merger closing.

Microsoft initially announced the Activision bid in January 2022. The internet giant wanted to take on rivals Tencent and Sony with the acquisition. Earlier, both companies signed a 10-year licensing deals that will bring Call of Duty to their gaming platform if the Activision deal is approved. However, Microsoft has now decided to let Call of Duty stay on PlayStation. In fact, Spain’s Nware has also signed a 10-year deal to bring Xbox and Activision Blizzard games to the Spanish cloud-gaming platform.

It is to be noted that Brazil, Chile, Serbia and Saudi Arabia have already given an unconditional approval to the deal. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Tencent-Owned WeChat Adds In-App Support for China’s CBDC, Here’s Why

WeChat has added in-app support for China’s e-CNY CBDC in order to get more nationals to use the digital currency. Owned by tech giant Tencent, WeChat is China’s equivalent to WhatsApp, offering an array of social networking mediums as well as a bank-to-bank payment option. As per statistics tracker Oberio, WeChat is estimated to have had over 827 million users in China, all of whom will now have the choice to give the Chinese CBDC a try for facilitating day-to-day payments.

China is accelerating its efforts to drive the adoption of its CBDC in various ways, aiming to onboard currently unbanked nationals onto its financial systems.

WeChat users will now be able to use the digital yuan to pay for eatables and bills via the multi-purpose app.

Those interested to try this feature will have to authorise their WeChat phone numbers with the government-controlled digital yuan wallet operator to activate the service, Chinese media reported.

Built on blockchain networks, CBDCs like the digital yen register permanent and un-alterable transactional records that makes the financial system more transparent.

Other nations like India, Japan, and the US among others are also in advanced phases of their CBDC R&D, to diversify people’s choices in-terms of financial settlements.

China is among the first countries in the world alongside Nigeria and India to roll out its CBDC to the masses.

In September 2022, the country released its CBDCs for public testing in four of its most dense regions. In the present day, the e-CNY digital yuan is available for use with select merchants across 26 Chinese cities and provinces.

For now, China has limited the value of each CBDCs transaction to be as high as $290 (roughly Rs. 23,790). For the daily quota restriction, Chinese CBDC users cannot process CBDC payments exceeding $700 (roughly Rs. 57,430), Bitcoin.com reported citing China’s Global Times.

By August last year, CBDC transactions amounted to $13.9 billion (roughly Rs. 1,140 crore) in China.

The Chinese Municipal Bank also issued its first eCNY loan to a manufacturing plant last year.

In fact, WeChat is not the only popular app that has integrated the e-CNY as part of its services. Recently, Alibaba-owned Ali Pay also added support for CBDC payments in the Asian nation.

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Microsoft’s Licensing Offer Said to Likely Satisfy EU on Activision Deal

Microsoft’s offer of licensing deals to rivals is likely to address EU antitrust concerns over its $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,68,000 crore) acquisition of Activision, three people familiar with the matter said, helping it to clear a major hurdle.

Microsoft announced the Activision bid in January last year, its biggest ever, to take on leaders Tencent and Sony, in the booming videogaming market and to venture in the metaverse which is virtual online worlds where people can work, play and socialise.

The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by April 25, is not expected to demand that Microsoft sell assets to win its approval, the people said.

Activision shares spiked up 1.8 percent in pre-market trading after the Reuters’ story was published.

Microsoft President Brad Smith last month said the US software group was ready to offer rivals licensing deals to address antitrust concerns but it would not sell Activision’s lucrative Call of Duty franchise.

Smith said it was not feasible or realistic to think that one game or one slice of Activision can be carved out and separated from the rest.

The EU competition enforcer declined to comment.

Microsoft said it was “committed to offering effective  and  easily  enforceable solutions  that address the European Commission’s concerns.”

“Our commitment to grant long term 100 percent equal access to  Call of Duty to Sony, Steam,  NVIDIA and others  preserves the deal’s benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Last month, Microsoft said it had signed 10-year licensing deals with Nintendo and Nvidia that will bring Call of Duty to their gaming platforms, with the agreements conditional on a green light for the Activision deal.

The deal faces regulatory headwinds in Britain, where the UK competition agency has suggested that Microsoft divests Call of Duty to address its concerns while the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked a judge to block the deal.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

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TikTok Banned From Government Devices in Two US States Over Security Concerns; Huawei, Tencent Also Barred

The governors of Wisconsin and North Carolina on Thursday signed orders banning TikTok on government devices due to cyber security concerns, joining other US states and the federal government in prohibiting the use of the popular video app.

In addition to banning Chinese-owned TikTok from state devices, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said he was banning vendors, products and services from other Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies, Hikvision, Tencent Holdings – the owner of WeChat, ZTE Corp as well as Russian-based Kaspersky Lab.

“In the digital age, defending our state’s technology and cybersecurity infrastructure and protecting digital privacy have to be a top priority for us as a state,” Evers said.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an order directing officials to develop a policy within 14 days that prohibits the use of TikTok, WeChat and “potentially other applications” that present cybersecurity risks on state devices.

More than 20 other states have also banned TikTok, owned by Chinese technology conglomerate ByteDance, from state devices including Ohio, New Jersey and Arkansas earlier this week.

TikTok said it was “disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok.”

The Democratic governors of Wisconsin and North Carolina joined mostly Republican governors who have led the charge to ban TikTok from state devices.

Calls to ban TikTok from government devices gained steam after US FBI Director Christopher Wray said in November it poses national security risks.

Wray flagged the threat that the Chinese government could harness the app to influence users or control their devices.

For three years, TikTok – which has more than 100 million users – has been seeking to assure Washington that the personal data of US citizens cannot be accessed and its content cannot be manipulated by China’s Communist Party or any other entity under Beijing’s influence.

Last month, US President Joe Biden signed into law a government funding bill that included a ban on federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices.

The law gives the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 60 days “to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies requiring the removal” of TikTok from federal devices. OMB declined to comment Thursday.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Microsoft Said to Have Offered No Remedies in EU Antitrust Review of Activision Deal

Microsoft’s has not offered any remedies to EU antitrust regulators reviewing its proposed $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,71,400 crore) bid for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard ahead of an expected full-scale EU probe, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The US software company is betting on the acquisition to help it compete better with leaders Tencent and Sony, with the latter being a critic of the deal.

The European Commission, which is scheduled to finish its preliminary assessment of the deal by November 8, said its website was up to date. The site showed that Microsoft had not provided concessions.

Microsoft said it continues to work with the Commission on the next steps and to address any valid marketplace concerns, such as those voiced by Sony.

“Sony, as the industry leader, says it is worried about Call of Duty, but we’ve said we are committed to making the same game available on the same day on both Xbox and PlayStation,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Companies typically do not offer remedies during the EU preliminary review when they know regulators subsequently intend to open a four-month long investigation.

Earlier, it was reported that the EU antitrust regulators are asking games developers whether Microsoft will be incentivised to block rivals’ access to Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard’s best-selling games, according to an EU document seen by Reuters. 

The EU competition enforcer also asked if Activision’s trove of user data would give the US software giant a competitive advantage in the development, publishing and distribution of computer and console games, the EU document shows.

The planned acquisition, the biggest in the gaming industry, will help Microsoft better compete with leaders Tencent and Sony.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

 

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Hacker Offers to Sell Data of 48.5 Million Users of Shanghai’s COVID App

A hacker claims to have obtained the personal information of 48.5 million users of a COVID health mobile app run by the city of Shanghai, the second claim of a breach of the Chinese financial hub’s data in just over a month.

The hacker with the username “XJP” posted an offer to sell the data for $4,000 (roughly Rs. 3,20,000) on the hacker forum Breach Forums on Wednesday.

The person provided a sample of the data including the phone numbers, names, Chinese identification numbers, and health code status of 47 people.

Eleven of the 47 reached by Reuters confirmed they were listed in the sample, though two said their identification numbers were wrong. Reuters was unable to further verify the authenticity of the hacker’s claim.

The true size and nature of these kinds of data hacks is sometimes overstated by the seller in an attempt to make a quick profit.

“This DB (database) contains everyone who lives in or visited Shanghai since Suishenma’s adoption,” XJP said in the post, which originally asked for $4,850 (roughly Rs. 4,00,000) before lowering the price later the same day.

Suishenma is the Chinese name for Shanghai’s health code system, which the city of 25 million people established in early 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19. All residents and visitors have to use it.

The app collects travel data to give users a red, yellow or green rating indicating the likelihood of having the virus. The code has to be shown to enter public venues.

The data is managed by the city government and users can access Suishenma either by downloading the app or opening it using the Alipay app, owned by fintech giant and Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, and Tencent‘s WeChat app.

The Shanghai government, Ant and Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment. XJP declined to comment when reached on Breach Forums.

“I’m not ready to answer questions yet as I have a lot more to drop,” XJP said.

The purported Suishenma breach comes after a hacker last month claimed to have procured 23TB of personal information belonging to one billion Chinese citizens from the Shanghai police.

That hacker also offered to sell the data on Breach Forums.

The first hacker was able to steal data from the police as a dashboard for managing a police database that had been left open on the public internet without password protection for more than a year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing cyber security researchers.

The newspaper said data was hosted on Alibaba’s cloud platform and Shanghai authorities had summoned company executives over the matter.

Neither the Shanghai government nor the police nor Alibaba have commented on the police database matter.

Chinese regulatory bodies have in the past two years announced a barrage of new rules strengthening oversight over the private sector’s management of user data, after years of complaints by residents about how their personal data could be easily stolen or sold.

A screenshot of XJP’s offer on Breach Forums went viral on Chinese social media on Friday, prompting several Weibo users to weigh in on this latest leak and its broader implications, as well as question what sort of action would be taken.

“Data leaks in China are really no longer uncommon news,” said one.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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Need for Speed Mobile Gameplay Allegedly Leaked Online, Tencent Might Be Developer

Need for Speed Mobile might be on its way. The popular racing video game franchise is expected to drop a new title for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X this year, and while Criterion Games works on the upcoming title that is said to bring “some astounding visual leaps”, alleged footage of a new Need for Speed mobile game has been spotted online. The leaked video suggests that a new NFS racing title, with maps resembling the ones found on Need for Speed Heat, could be in development by Tencent for Android and iOS smartphones. However, there’s no word from Electronic Arts or Tencent about plans for an upcoming mobile racing title.

Leaked footage claimed to be from an upcoming Need for Speed game for smartphones was shared by Reddit user u/Clxbsport on Wednesday. The post is titled “Need for Speed Mobile 2022 (Tencent) Gameplay Leaked” suggesting that the mobile game could be developed by the Chinese giant, which has worked on Call of Duty: Mobile, Honor of Kings, and Pokémon Unite.

The NFS Mobile video shared on Reddit shows off 47 seconds of gameplay with two vehicles, and gives gamers an idea of what the game could look like during the day and at night. According to a comment from user u/NFSLYY on the post, there are currently three cars in the game — the McLaren F1, the Lamborghini Aventador SVJR, and the Lamborghini Gallardo. Parts of the game’s on-screen text appears to be in Chinese.

The Redditor also states that the upcoming Need for Speed game for smartphones is created with Unreal Engine 4, and offers similar handling to the cancelled Need for Speed: Edge, with similar drift boost effects. Meanwhile, the map is said to resemble the one found on Need for Speed Heat — this could change over the course of the game’s development. At the moment, the game doesn’t feature a story or cops, according to the Reddit user.

As previously mentioned, neither EA Games nor Tencent have revealed any information regarding an upcoming title for smartphones. However, EA and Criterion are confirmed to be working on a new Need for Speed title for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X, that was announced during an earnings call in November 2020. It was supposed to release in late 2021, but likely thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other internal challenges, the as-yet untitled NFS game is expected to be available later this year.

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