On October 19, Caixin reported that Alibaba confirmed to it that Taobao is testing the function of sharing shopping cart to WeChat groups and circle of friends, which is expected to be achieved before Double Eleven and is expected to be online on October 27. In response to this news, Tencent did not respond.
This means that the Internet wall demolition is expected to be one step closer. Since September 17, Tencent has allowed users to open the Douyin and Taobao links in the private chat window, while at the entrances of the circle of friends, group chats, mini programs and so on, Tencent has blocked them on security grounds. These entrances are important channels for each app to attract users, private chat sharing, can only be shared to one person, and through the circle of friends sharing, you can share to the user's hundreds of friends.
And sharing a one-on-one private chat cannot achieve larger-scale dissemination because it cannot be forwarded. A Tencent insider said:
Since the risk of content information cannot be completely excluded, all text external links provided by Non-WeChat can only be opened in the private chat scenario, and the share button is not provided for the time being. The rules apply consistently to all relevant links and are not for any platform.
In response to this statement of ensuring security, Caixin quoted an Internet security person as saying that there is a very simple whitelist mechanism for the security management of external links, which has never been a technical issue. Even if fake backlinks pose danger, this is manageable.
What's more, Tencent's security team is quite strong, and it has won awards in international security events many times, and its strength should be enough to control the risks that these external links may bring.
In the context of the relevant departments promoting the "demolition of the wall", Tencent can only comply with the relevant regulations to implement the interconnection plan "in stages and steps". Just as in the case of the Meituan penalty incident, Tencent is likely to be required to submit reports on a regular basis, and Tencent's actions should be more compliant.
However, the proliferation of sharing links such as spam links, induced sharing, and "slashing a knife" will indeed affect the ecology of WeChat. Many users do not want to see this situation appear, but it cannot be all refereed by Tencent and directly blocked. Tencent may be able to leave the choice to the user, and the user can set the link from which to do so without disturbing, folding, minimizing, etc.
External links can be more easily shared into the national app of WeChat, and the app of small businesses may attract more users. Small businesses get more opportunities to grow and competition increases, which is undoubtedly a good thing for users.