President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would ban the social media video app Tik Tok and Wechat, a communications app owned by Tencent, an internet giant from China, in the United States.
The order, enacted on Aug. 6, is one of many executive orders the President has announced.
This executive order prohibits transactions with both parents companies and will be active in about 45 days.
It has been one of the many threats that Trump has used to combat China as he put tariffs on them.
The supposed reason for the ban is “security concerns,” as President Trump is worried that it poses a threat to the U.S due to the apps publishers’ ties with China. He thinks that it’s using spyware and stealing data from people who have been using the app.
As for Tik Tok and what will happen to it, there have been talks of how Microsoft has plans to buy the social media app for about $30 billion. Microsoft is in discussions regarding the acquisition, with it talking up to three weeks and should be completed before Sept. 15.
The company that would be impacted most is Tencent, which owns or has stakes in many widely popular gaming companies like Epic Games, GearBox, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft.
These are but a few of the companies that Tencent has shares in or has nominal control over as the company paired up with Nintendo a few years ago to distribute the Nintendo Switch in China.
Tencent recently partnered with the Pokemon Company to create Pokemon Unite, a mobile/Switch title that features MOBA elements.
Many people speculated that except for banning Tik Tok, targeting Chinese Companies like Bytedance and Tencent would lead to gaming companies having ties or shares with Tencent being unable to sell their games in the U.S market. This wouldn’t be the case, however.
According to a White House official, the executive order would only block transactions for WeChat, with nothing else discussed regarding other Tencent holdings.
It’s safe to say that video games will be safe from this executive order as it’ll only affect Tik Tok and WeChat.
Tencent has been viewed negatively by gamers, with many believing they are the reason gaming companies have been acting more anti-consumer recently, attempting to appeal to the Chinese market at the expense of American consumers.
It appears to be tough going for Tencent. With the news of the executive order, their stocks dropped by ten percent, falling from $72 to $67 dollars, leaving shareholders concerned if it’ll continue to drop, spooking other companies who may be afraid to take Tencent as a partner.
With only a few weeks left until the executive order is slated to take effect, it’s safe to say that Tik Tok or WeChat users would have to move on from it and use Instagram or Twitter.
