Late 2021 meta* decided to restart its business in China, more than a decade after Facebook was blocked there*. The company has made progress in talks with video game maker Tencent to jointly promote the Quest VR virtual reality headset. But the company’s efforts are running into trouble as Chinese executives are considering Meta’s founder and boss* Mark Zuckerberg is not friendly to China.
Image source: Meta*
In 2009, Meta failed* Compliance with Chinese censorship rules led to the blocking of the social network Facebook* in China. After unrest in China’s Xinjiang region, state media said social media was being used to fuel the unrest. Founder of Meta a few years later* Mark Zuckerberg accused China, and specifically ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the TikTok platform, of stealing technology. This reinforced negative attitudes towards the businessman in Beijing.
Officials’ attitude toward Zuckerberg could add to uncertainty if Meta* and its partners will apply for licenses and permits for their products and services in China. Potential partners also fear a negative reaction from Meta* about possible future restrictions on VR content. Beijing plans to regulate this segment.
The merger could benefit both Tencent, the world’s largest video game publisher, and Meta*. China’s huge consumer market could help Meta* recover a portion of the billions of dollars invested in developing VR headsets, software and applications for the Metaverse.
Meta* will encounter serious problems in advertising in China. Most likely, the company needs to offer local content, separate from Meta’s global offerings.*. In addition, Tencent will try to integrate its own virtual reality products. Other challenges will include lower consumer spending in China and operational issues such as handling user data. China is increasingly restricting the transfer of data abroad.
Image source: Pixabay
Meta* This isn’t the first attempt to return to the Chinese market. But Facebook*WhatsApp and Instagram* remain blocked in the country of 1.4 billion people, though the company still gets some revenue from Chinese companies advertising on Facebook*.
The company courted Chinese officials and hired a well-connected head of China’s policy department. Zuckerberg even gave several speeches in Chinese and walked through smoky Beijing without a mask in 2016, causing a stir on the internet.
But in 2019, Zuckerberg argued that TikTok doesn’t share Facebook’s commitment.* freedom of expression and poses a threat to American values and technological superiority. In 2020, Zuckerberg condemned China’s intellectual property theft, saying: “I think it’s well documented that the Chinese government is stealing technology from American companies.”
The deal with Tencent makes the Chinese company the exclusive seller of Meta headsets* in the country. Tencent gets a new revenue stream and the ability to use virtual reality devices. The company had previously developed VR games, but was unable to offer its own device for the game.
Image source: Meta*
Meta* will face serious competition in the Chinese market, for example with ByteDance’s Pico device. competition between meta* and Pico is getting stronger all over the world. The Pico headset is available in Europe and Asia. There are no plans to sell Pico in the US yet.
It should be noted that users have adopted the meta font* without much enthusiasm. Perhaps the situation will change with Quest 3, which is expected to go on sale in the fall at a price of $499. That’s eight times less than the Apple Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499, and less than the $549 Sony VR2 headset.
* It is included in the list of public associations and religious organizations for which the court made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for in Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Combating Extremists”. has met activity”.
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