China’s Tencent: Tech world must tackle privacy concerns

Seng Yee Lau , senior executive vice president of Tencent, China’s biggest tech company, answers the Associated Press, in the Royal Monceau Hotel, in Paris, Thursday, May 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PARIS — China’s biggest tech company says the industry needs to tackle users’ privacy concerns and the risks posed by advancing technologies.

Seng Yee Lau, senior executive vice president of Tencent, told The Associated Press on Thursday that tech companies should invest more in education.

The largest Chinese tech company by stock market value, Tencent is best known for its WeChat messaging service but makes most of its money from games. Lau met Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and others at a tech event in Paris.

As Europe introduces stringent new data protection rules this week, Lau said, “We should be paying a concerted effort in learning more about issues of privacy.”

The ruling Communist Party requires Tencent and other social media services to monitor what their users do and to enforce censorship guidelines.