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Comment by tw1984 | Hacker News Reader

tw1984

There is no such ban. Microsoft operates tons of services in China. Internet companies just need to host all Chinese in China using an approved provider. This is the exact same requirement extended to Tiktok, for ages US tiktok data is stored in Oracle cloud with full audit access by appointed American firms.

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Parent talks about Meta, you mention Microsoft. They are not in the same business. Meta is in the social networking domain, which the communist party in China has treated for years as a matter of national security. The "color revolutions" and the "Arab Spring" gave them good reason to believe that online social networks were a driver of societal change too powerful not to control. And they control it very very tightly.

> Parent talks about Meta, you mention Microsoft. Meta is in the social networking domain

Microsoft operated its own popular social network in China, called MSN Messenger. Tens of millions Chinese users were on that platform for like a decade until the release of mobile based WeChat.

> which the communist party in China has treated for years as a matter of national security

It is a matter of national security, we all saw what happened on twitter shortly before the 6th Jan 2021 attack.

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-5-2...

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-6-2...

That is the exact reason why everyone agreed that TikTok must host all US data and its deployed recommendation algorithm code in the US with 3rd party audit access by an appointed US entity.

The only question here is why should Meta and Google be exempted from the exact same rules if they want to operate their services in China.

MSN Messenger in China was run by MSN China, a separate company run by Chinese residents (as required by Chinese law). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_China

They were defeated by the QQ app and shut down in 2014.

https://technode.com/2014/08/29/microsoft-messenger-shut-dow...

> MSN Messenger in China was run by MSN China, a separate company run by Chinese residents (as required by Chinese law)

Microsoft retained a 50% ownership of MSN China, just check the link you cited. Microsoft also retained the full ownership of the MSN messenger software while MSN China was just in charge of its day to day operation in China.

Also interesting to see that millions of Tesla EVs are being sold in China, hundreds of millions other American cars were sold in the past, but when Chinese EVs try to crack the US market it sudden becomes a national security issue.

> Also interesting to see that millions of Tesla EVs are being sold in China, hundreds of millions other American cars were sold in the past, but when Chinese EVs try to crack the US market it sudden becomes a national security issue.

Why are you making it sound like China doesn't restrict Tesla for "national security"?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/23/business/tesla-barred-china-s... https://fortune.com/2023/07/26/tesla-cars-barred-china-world... https://www.carscoops.com/2024/01/more-venues-across-china-a... https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-cars-are-banned-in-... https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/china-bans-tesla-drivin...

Tesla was asked to complete a comprehensive review to ensure its data compliance. Tesla did it and has been cleared for such data security issue, that is how Tesla sold 670k units in China in 2024.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-29/as-musk-v...

DJI drones have been operated & tested by numerous US agencies for ages, yet it is still a national security threat. how convenient!

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