Two developers are reportedly under scrutiny from the United States government following an executive order prohibiting transactions with ByteDance Ltd.—the company behind TikTok. The two developers being investigated by the federal government—Riot Games and Epic Games—own Fortnite, League of Legends, Rocket League, and the Unreal Engine.
President Trump has been hard on the Communist Party of China and its trade deals with the United States, leading to taxes on Chinese imports. However, Chinese companies have been able to operate in the US until the President issued an executive order prohibiting further downloads of Chinese owned TikTok until data security can be assured.
TikTok was allegedly banned from the US for its vast data collection practices, lack of data security, and ties to the communist government of China. The problem is, the order can be interpreted in two ways. The first is that it is only targeting TikTok developer ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries. The second is that the order could cover any company in Beijing, China, or that has any interest in China.
The featured tweet here shows that the issue with TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. has been resolved. However, the US Department of Commerce—the department overseeing the order—took a wider interpretation of the order, so the story isn’t over.
According to a report, Epic Games and Riot Games both received letters from the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment asking how the companies handle customer data. That committee is tasked with determining what effect certain transactions with foreign companies have on national security—think dance emotes. It stands to reason then, that the committee would be interested in companies that deal with Tencent, a Chinese owned company similar to ByteDance. Considering that Tencent owns Riot Games outright. and a 40% share in Epic Games, it’s not a mystery why these companies are being asked questions.
Fortnight and League of Legends make a lot of money by themselves, never mind the other wildly popular games these developers own. They aren’t going anywhere. As far as the government is concerned, they are only interested in data security—and US involvement in massive Chinese companies. TikTok itself, despite the concerns and hype, isn’t actually going away. It’s turning into a Walmart property.
It appears that as long as there is US involvement in these companies, everything is going to remain the way it is. Your data will just be going to US companies as well.
Source: LA Times
