China is currently targeting Tencent as the Asian government wants to remove the company's music licensing rights. Aside from this, the Chinese antitrust regulators also said that the developer needs to settle a fine for its anti-competitive behavior.
A man walks past a sign for Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media company WeChat, outside the Tencent headquarters in Beijing on August 7, 2020. - Beijing on August 7 accused the United States of "suppression" after President Donald Trump ordered sweeping restrictions against Chinese social media giants TikTok and WeChat. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
China's State Administration for Market Regulation confirmed the details on Saturday, July 24. The government agency added that Tencent and its affiliate companies need to pay the required amount of $77,141 so that it can relinquish its exclusive music rights.
On the other hand, the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate holding company's copyright holders also need to end their unfair treatment towards the game publisher. China's authorities explained that this is needed to remove the firm's anti-competitive behavior.
As of the moment, Tencent owns more than 80% of exclusive music library resources. This acquisition gives the Chinese firm to have an unfair advantage over its competitors, preventing them from reaching exclusive deals with copyright holders.
Tencent Is Targeted By Chinese Regulators
According to CNBC's latest report, the Asian country's competition watchdog requires the game creator to report its progress every year for within three years. On the other hand, SAMR added that it would strictly supervise its implementation based on the law.
A logo of China Internet giant Tencent Holdings is seen during the announcement of the company's fourth-quarter results in Hong Kong on March 18, 2015. Tencent said its net profit was up 54 percent at 3.82 billion USD (23.81 billion yuan) in 2014 helped by "rapid development" of mobile gaming and social networking. AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez
Also Read: Tencent Launches Data Center in Indonesia to Tap Fast-Moving Southeast Asian Digital Economy Growth
"This case is the first case since the implementation of China's Anti-monopoly Law to take the necessary measures to restore the state of market competition for illegal operators," said the Chinese competition regulators via SAMR's official filing.
"Ordering Tencent to lift the exclusive copyright and other measures will reshape the relevant market competition order, reduce the market entry barriers, so that competitors have a fair access to upstream copyright resources opportunities," they added.
China Also Investigates Other Giant Tech Firms
Aside from Tencent, China also conducted its latest regulatory crackdown, which also looks into other tech giant firms after discovering that there are anti-competitive activities within its market.
The Chinese government added that they are also investigating the increasing scrutiny on China-based companies and data security.
For more news updates about Tencent and other related stories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: Tencent Now Owns a Majority Stake in 'Spec Ops: The Line' Developer Yager
This article is owned by TechTimes
Written by: Griffin Davis
