The new list of technologies under export controls announced on Aug. 28 came as an unwelcome surprise to an industry already grappling with the uncertainty posed by trade tensions between China and the United States.
In addition to recommendation algorithms such as those used by ByteDance-owned TikTok, the new list of"partially restricted exports" includes drone and cybersecurity technology, voice recognition software, and handwriting scanning software. "It's very probable that a company with R&D centres in China are going to face a choice - keep their R&D centre in China, just for China, or leave China so they can use the tech they develop anywhere in the world," he said.
They could change the thinking of companies such as Microsoft, consumer drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, video streaming service Zoom Video Communications, and Tencent Holdings, which exports games worldwide and has a fast-growing overseas cloud-service business.