League of Legends Might Get Banned in US; Tencent Games in Trouble
Riot fans in the US are panicking as League of Legends might potentially get banned in the US. This speculation came after Mobile Legends: Bang Bang suspended its operations in America after TikTok got banned. The US Government is cracking down on Chinese-owned tech companies due to supposed “national risks,” so games like League of Legends are potentially in trouble due to Riot being a subsidiary of Tencent.
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League of Legends Potential Ban Due to Tencent
After MLBB and Marvel Snapped ceased operations in the US, players are worried that League of Legends might be the next target. LoL developer Riot has direct ties to Chinese tech giant Tencent, which owns many other games and studios. The US has started a stricter and harsher crackdown against potential national risks, which is why Chinese companies have been targeted.
Tencent has already received heavy sanctions after they were designated a foreign military company by the US Department of Defense, which caused a steep stock drop. Their blacklist is already a step in the direction of potentially restricting Tencent’s operations in the United States, which means potential bans on anything related to the company. This would cause hundreds, if not thousands, of gaming companies to cease operating in the region, as most studios have ties with Tencent.
It’s still unclear if the Tencent ban will happen, but the restriction is possible due to recent developments following the TikTok ban. This potential ban will affect games like League of Legends, Valorant, and Marvel Rivals, leading to thousands of gamers suffering. The lack of information from lawmakers and other government agencies doesn’t spell good news regarding this issue.
US Gov’t Crackdowns on TikTok and ByteDance
The US government has heavily restricted ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant, which directly targeted TikTok. After the social media was banned, players found that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang became unavailable, which revealed that Moonton was also affected. The gaming company is a subsidiary of ByteDance, so having direct ties with the Chinese tech giant means they’re also implicated in the ban.
The decision to ban ByteDance was due to national security and data privacy concerns. The US government believes that ByteDance poses a huge user data risk due to its connections with the Chinese government. While TikTok went dark for Americans Saturday night, leaving millions devastated, the app came back online Sunday morning, which could bring some hope to League of Legends fans.
