The US TikTok ban sets a dangerous precedent for games, with Marvel Snap being the first of many

It happened, TikTok was (but now it’s not?) banned in the United States, barring millions from downloading and even accessing the app. Alongside it, blindsiding many people in the process, was the ban of Marvel Snap. Why did this app get affected among all other Chinese-꧅owne🧸d apps, though?

Du❀e to security threats and farming user data, it has been a hot-button topic in Congress ever since 2020. Bytedance🗹 had to sell TikTok’s operations to the US, otherwise the ban would likely go through. 

What many didn’t realize is that Bytedance and its subsidiaries, including Marvel Snap, would all be affected by this 🦂umbrella ban. TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance, owns another company called Nuverse, which is home to the popular mobile card game. 

This sets a dangerous preceᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚdent for not just social media apps, but video games as a medium. Video games have already been scrutinized in Western society for inciting violence, making kids lazy, contributing to the obesity problem, or pushing social narratives. 

With “national security concerns” being added to that lis🃏t, it’s only a matter of time until other Chinese-owne🌳d companies like Tencent are in the crosshairs of the US government (which they to a lesser extent). 

This ongoing feud with China has already led to the ban on mos🍬t ဣvehicles from the country due to connectivity with Bluetooth, wi-fi, and other wireless software. . The ban also extends to the sale and use of Huawei phones (a brand specifically from China). 

But how does this all tie back into video games?

Well, most games we play nowadays will hit us with an EULA terms and conditions page, especially if there’s a𒁃n online aspect to them. Most people skim these at most, without reading the full and fine p♒rint. 

What many fail to realize is th💖at these often take a lot of data from us like emails, passwords, voice comms, and text logs. Hitting no or not agreeing with these conditions will essentially not allow you to use these online products. 

As mentioned earlier, companies like Tencent were already under fire in the US for apps like WeChat back in 2020 𝄹for similar reasons as TikTok. Luckily, it was only that app in particular that was under scrutiny. 

But now t🔴hat we’re in the TikTok ban era where the whole company and ܫits subsidiaries were on the chopping block, the stakes are higher. 

This is why Marvel Snap‘s operations ended in the United States abruptly. Most of the player base was not informed that it would be part of the ban since there was more of an emphasis on just TikTok. 

If a company like Tencent were to be banned from operating in the US or other Western nations, we’d hypothetically lose access to games from studios like Digital Extremes (Warframe), Supercell (Clash Royale, Brawl Stars), Riot Games (League of Legends, Valorant), and way more. 

If the same had applied to Tencent with the whole🧸 WeChat debacle of 2020, the impact would have been much worse.

The TikTok ban doesn’t set a good precedent, even if it was just reversed b𝓡y the Trump administration. More fire can easily be added to justify a ban or a huge restriction on the medium on top of national s💯ecurity concerns.