While the American public is watching the politicians battle for gubernatorial and Congressional positions, an all-out war is happening on the Chinese internet. Tencent, a company boasting of approximately 1 billion accounts and 200 million active users, and 360 Antivirus, China’s largest free virus protection company, have attacked one another for the past 40 days. The tensions has have escalated into a full-scale war when Tencent today announced that its programs cannot operate on computers installed with 360 Antivirus’ programs.
You may ask: Why do these companies matter?
Tencent operates QQ, China’s most popular instant messenger program and a series of other programs that range from music to internet browser. Not only does the regular Chinese citizen rely on Tencent’s programs for communication purposes, it has become the destination for entertainment as well as studies. The company has become one of the most successful internet companies in China over the past decade, and its www.qq.com is ranked by Alexa as the 2nd most visited site in China and 10th most visited in the world. On the other hand, 360 Antivirus is the new player in the Chinese antivirus industry with only 4 years of existence. However, it currently has 200 million users and its quick ascend has been due to its free strategy and wide range of protection software. Both are giants in their respective fields so this particular battle may shape the landscape of the future of China’s internet.
How did we get here?
It started with Tencent releasing a protection software that rivals that of 360’s. Subsequently, 360 accused Tencent of intruding into the privacies of its users. The battles continued with Tencent uniting several tech giants to criticize 360 for its policies and then 360 releasing a software that disables Tencent advertisement functions. Just over the past day or two, Tencent decided that only one of the two can survive and all of China’s users have to either choose Tencent’s programs or 360’s programs.
What will happen?
This is an unprecedented move in the history of China’s internet as the future of two large corporations lie in the balance. The move has been attacked by many people to be completely irresponsible while others defend the move as a form of self-defense. Tencent may have felt that its revenues were seriously threatened by 360’s program and most likely believes that no other program in China can replace QQ while antivirus substitutes can easily be found. However, such a belief may prove to be dangerous as alternative communication programs fight for the market. If neither of the companies back off, both companies will come out with a lot less users and one may even disappear. If one does back off, it may be perceived as weak. While it is unknown at this moment who will win this battle, uninvolved internet companies have a valuable opportunity to enter into the respective markets while the government needs to clearly define the internet boundaries between strategizing and breaking the law and the definition of monopoly. Despite the uncertainty, what is certain is that hundreds of millions of China’s internet users face a tough decision and ask themselves, “How can such a war break out on my own desktop?”
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