Security News > 2021 > July > Tencent suspends signups to WeChat, citing 'security upgrade' and need to comply with Chinese laws

Chinese web giant Tencent has suspended new signups to its WeChat messaging service.

A notification posted yesterday to the WeChat account on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter analogue, said the reason for the suspension is a security upgrade.

Tencent hasn't defined a range of dates that fits within that phrase, leaving open the possibility that the suspension could last a week or more.

The suspension has been interpreted as signalling Beijing's regulatory blowtorch, which has recently focussed on Chinese tech orgs that list and/or store data offshore, has been aimed at Tencent.

Tencent has used the platform's billion-plus user base to expand into payment systems, e-commerce, and many more services.

Tencent shares dipped almost nine per cent on news of the WeChat signup suspension.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/07/28/tencent_suspends_new_wechat_accounts/