(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Victoria Coates of the Heritage Foundation took to Fox Business early Wednesday and claimed that China could spy on young gamer boys through gaming giant Tencent, which the U.S. recently designated as a Chinese military company.
Coates said on Mornings with Maria that China may track young American men playing video games like Call of Duty and Fortnite to get an idea of how the U.S. could react in a war.
“The one I’m really interested in, Maria, is Tencent because that is the world’s largest gaming company,” she told anchor Maria Bartiromo following a discussion about China’s infiltration in big business and the Panama Canal. “It does operate WeChat as you said, but also Fortnite, also Call of Duty.”
Victoria Coates tells Fox that China could use gaming giant Tencent to track the wartime behaviors of young American men via video games like Call of Duty, Fortnite.
“They can literally run their war games with willing dupes in the West to see how we may act.” pic.twitter.com/FJvbyOnfPa
— Julianna Frieman (@JuliannaFrieman) January 8, 2025
Coates continued by saying, “When you think about a game like Call of Duty, which is, you know, a war game, essentially. What Tencent can do is gather data on military-age young men from various places around the globe and how they react to different military scenarios.”
While video games are supposed to be “a lot of fun,” Coates acknowledged, there could be a potential national security risk that comes with logging on.
“It’s supposed to be a lot of fun. But potentially, it’s a huge security vulnerability. And a great benefit for the PRC. They can literally run their war games,” she said, adding that behavioral data on military-age men from the West is at China’s fingertips.
The US Department of Defense has classified Tencent, owners of Riot and investors in several other game studios, as a Chinese Military company. https://t.co/gcCpfNvR2H pic.twitter.com/Qd4ADGI2yo
— IGN (@IGN) January 7, 2025
Bartiromo asked her guest if she expects the incoming Trump administration to crack down on Chinese stocks that trade on U.S. exchanges, noting the “worry on Wall Street” that the president-elect may “get tough” on certain companies.
“He certainly could,” Coates responded. “And I think it should also come as a chilling warning that if you have these in your pension fund, you should really take another look at that.”
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
