Tencent has been urged to put a halt to the development of new apps in China.
The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has also ordered that upgrades to the goods be temporarily halted.
It comes as the technology industry’s regulatory body assesses compliance with new privacy laws that went into effect earlier this month.
Current versions of the applications, on the other hand, may still be downloaded and used normally.
Reporters believe that new app rollouts and upgrades will be halted until the end of the year while the regulator conducts technical testing.
“We are always trying to improve user safety measures in our applications, and we collaborate with appropriate government organizations on a regular basis to guarantee regulatory compliance. Our apps are still working and may be downloaded “In a statement, Tencent said.
The decision was made after Beijing began enforcing its Information Protection Law in early November.
The new guidelines are intended to tighten up the way technology companies manage their consumers’ data.
It’s part of a larger Chinese government strategy to tighten control over some of the country’s most powerful technological firms.
According to CCTV, the MIIT has stated that all new app rollouts and upgrades from November 24 to the end of the year would be assessed before being made accessible to the public.
Crackdowns on ecommerce enterprises, online banking services, social networking platforms, gaming companies, cloud computing providers, ride-hailing applications, and cryptocurrency miners and exchanges have all been announced in recent months.
Tencent controls the WeChat super app and the QQ messaging network, and is the world’s largest video game vendor.
On Friday, the company’s shares in Hong Kong finished 3% down.
