. | . |
China's Tencent ordered to give up exclusive music rights in antitrust crackdown by AFP Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) July 24, 2021 Chinese tech giant Tencent must relinquish its exclusive music label rights, the market regulator said Saturday, after finding that the firm had violated antitrust laws. The ruling is the latest in a crackdown on China's tech sector after years of runaway growth, as Beijing frets over the companies' growing influence as well as the security of troves of sensitive consumer data. Tencent acquired a majority stake in rival China Music Group in 2016, effectively controlling more than 80 percent of exclusively held music streaming rights in the domestic market, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement. This gave the firm's music arm the ability to urge labels to "reach more exclusive copyright agreements, or require better trading conditions compared to (Tencent's) competitors," the regulator said, calling the case an "illegal concentration of business operators." Tencent's music arm was also fined 500,000 yuan ($77,144), SAMR said. Chinese music streaming firms have in recent years fought to snatch up exclusive rights to play labels' tracks in the country after regulators tightened rules against piracy. The biggest players in China's tech sector -- after years of growth thanks to lax regulation -- are now facing increased scrutiny. Earlier this month the financial regulator blocked a merger between video game live-streaming sites that would have given Tencent a majority stake overall, accounting for over between 80 to 90 per cent of the country's domestic market share according to analysts. Elsewhere, China's biggest ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing was banned from Chinese stores over data collection concerns, just days after a $4.4 billion New York IPO. Tencent did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. tjx/rbu
Upbeat quarterly update lifts Twitter shares San Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2021 Twitter on Thursday posted better-than-expected results for the recently ended quarter with gains in revenue, profit and its user base, sparking a rally in shares for the messaging platform. Net profit was $66 million on revenue that surged to $1.19 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. That compared to a loss of $1.38 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, according to the San Francisco-based tech firm. "Second-quarter revenue growth substantially exceeded estimates," noted Third ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |