“Tencent has temporarily halted new sign-ups to the widely used Chinese version of its WeChat messaging app, in a sign of how Beijing’s tightening regulatory net is affecting the country’s tech giants,” Nikkei reported. Details: Tencent said that it has suspended registrations for its Weixin app due to a security upgrade, which it is carrying out to adhere to the country’s latest legal requirements. However, the messaging app has previously conducted technology upgrades without having its operations interrupted. The company said that registrations are expected to resume after the completion of the security upgrade by early August. Meanwhile, its international sign-ups will be intact. Dive deeper: Earlier this year, ByteDance’s Chinese short-video app Douyin filed a complaint with a court in Beijing to sue Tencent for monopolistic behavior and asked for 90 million yuan (US$13.94 million) in compensation. The suspension also comes amid increased scrutiny on China’s tech firms and the way they use personal data. Recently, Didi’s US shares plunged 20% just hours after China’s cyberspace regulator banned the ride-hailing giant from all app stores on grounds of an alleged breach in data protection rules.
