August 15, 2022 3 min read
While many are rightly concerned about the growing influence of TikTok’s video-based social media platform and the Chinese government’s ability to collect unbelievable amounts of user data from it, China’s largest social media and video game studio, Tencent, is quietly taking over a dominant stake in the most popular video game companies all over the world and no one noticed. From the flagship Riot Games Valorant title to the popular Fortnite produced by Epic Games, Tencent and the Chinese Communist Party are introducing propaganda and influencing a generation of kids around the world while their parents aren’t watching.
Last week, Tencent announced that it intends to acquire a larger stake in the French Ubisoft studio, which is behind popular titles such as Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six Siege.
In 2018, Tencent acquired 5% of the studio and then began to influence the company. For example, in 2021, Ubisoft made visual changes to some games in order to sell them in China. The changes included the elimination of gambling symbols and skulls from playable environments. The company, however, was forced to reverse these changes after North American and European players promised never to play the game again if the changes remained.
While China-friendly changes to some titles have been rolled back after fans have voiced outrage, it’s clear that game studios are increasingly concerned about keeping Tencent and the Chinese Communist Party happy. With this in mind, Tencent’s quest to become Ubisoft’s largest private shareholder should not be taken lightly.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Ubisoft released numerous historical games and online experiences for children who were forced to study at home. As many players have pointed out, titles like Assassin’s Creed have tremendous educational value through accurate modeling of historic cities and monuments. And given the deteriorating quality of our education system, it should come as no surprise that children and parents are turning to video games to help them learn.
As Ubisoft continues to improve these historical games and learning experiences, the CCP’s ability to influence and shape these fundamental narratives poses a direct threat to children around the world.
Fears of arming video game narratives with propaganda only outline the surface of Tencent’s active campaign to conquer your home. In 2020, the online community noticed the anti-fraud software used in Valorant, similar to spyware. The so-called anti-cheat software launched when the computer was started – whether the user opened the game or not – and monitored all user activity by recording the programs used. This software broke with the industry standard and was seen as a breach of user privacy.
While Riot Games quickly denied the allegations and changed the design of its software, many remained unconvinced. After all, this is the same company that hid data leakage on millions of accounts from its users. Even more worryingly, it was revealed in March 2019 that over 300 million user messages sent on Tencent’s platforms and games were stored in a database used by Chinese police.
Tencent has become a key tool of the CCP. The video game company used its games to spy on Americans and used its digital content to propaganda our children. It preys on parents’ lack of technological knowledge across the country, putting their data privacy and their children’s data privacy in immediate danger.
Tencent’s quiet rise to global digital dominance is one of the greatest threats facing American children on the Internet. From TikTok to Tencent and your child’s favorite video game, China strives to influence our children and steal our private data. It is very important for parents to start playing a more active role in limiting what their children are playing online.
This track originally appeared on The Daily Signal
