The iconic toy manufacturer Lego and Chinese internet giant Tencent have formed a partnership. The two corporations aim to develop a safe environment for children on the internet, and raise awareness about "digital child safety" in a fun, creative way.
Tencent is the leading mobile gaming and social media company in Asia. Some of their products such as Weixin (the Chinese version of WeChat) and QQ, another instant messaging platform, are widely used by the Chinese populace.
Online safety is something both companies are concerned about especially in the digital age where an increasing amount of minors regularly access the Internet.
According to UNICEF's State of the World 2017 report, one in three internet users are under 18 years old.
"As children grow, the capacity of digitalization to shape their life experiences grows with them, offering seemingly limitless opportunities to learn and socialize," stated in the 2017 report.
To provide an insight on both companies' advocacies on digital safety, Lego, following their partnership with UNICEF, launched a revised version of its Digital Child Safety Policy in 2016.
Meanwhile, Tencent also has a framework called "Penguin Grow with You – Child Protection in the Digital Age," and a "Growth Guardian Platform."
This partnership aims to develop and release Lego video zone for children which will be incorporated into the Tencent video platform. They will also be developing and hosting Lego-branded games on their platform.
Aside from that, they also plan to introduce Lego Boost, which is a building and coding set that enables children to make their Lego creations move. Lego and Tencent are also looking into developing Lego Life, which is a safe, social network for children in China.
Despite Lego's recent decline, their future in Chinese markets is looking bright. With this partnership, it's expected to grow even more. They hold a three percent share in the Chinese market, and their sales have hit double-digit increases during the first half of 2017 as well.
