AWB Chapter 281 ICQ Press Conference
Chapter 281 ICQ Press Conference
At 3 PM, an analyst meeting was held between Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The meeting was conducted via video link, and the screen displayed five analysts from the two investment banks, their expressions serious.
"Mr. Ling, today's media reports have negatively impacted Xingyu's valuation," the Goldman Sachs analyst stated bluntly. "Our models show that if public opinion continues to worsen, Xingyu's user growth rate could drop by 5 to 10 percentage points, which would affect the valuation for the next round of financing."
"We are taking legal action," Ling Yun said.
"Legal action takes time, while market reactions are immediate," said a Morgan analyst. "We need to see more direct measures to stabilize investor confidence."
"for example?"
"For example, bringing in independent board members, especially those with government or security backgrounds," said a Goldman Sachs analyst. "Former government officials, retired generals, and veteran diplomats. Their endorsement can alleviate national security concerns."
"How much will it cost?"
"Annual salary of 200,000 to 500,000 yuan, plus stock options," the analyst said. "But this investment is worthwhile. Their network and reputation are assets in themselves."
"Is there a list of candidates?"
"Goldman Sachs can recommend a few. Former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, former National Security Council member, former CIA technical advisor..." the analyst listed several names, "but we need to decide quickly, these people are in high demand."
"Send me your resume," Ling Yun said. "Also, tell your clients that Xingyu's fundamentals remain unchanged. User growth, product development, and ecosystem building are all progressing according to plan. Short-term public opinion fluctuations will not affect its long-term value."
"We will communicate that," the analyst said, "but clients need to see concrete actions."
The meeting ended at 4:30. Ling Yun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His temples throbbed with pain.
At 5 p.m. sharp, James Lee called.
"Mr. Ling, have you made up your mind?"
"It's decided," Ling Yun said. "We'll sue the two media outlets and file the complaint tomorrow morning. As for Representative Thompson, we'll send an executive to a press conference tomorrow to express our support for the data localization legislation research. The option agreement can be signed today."
“Very good,” James said. “Our legal team can help review the draft complaint. Congressman Thompson knows several judges who specialize in media litigation and can ensure the case is assigned to… a friendly court.”
"Then it will be hard work."
"Also, regarding tonight's ICQ press conference..." James paused, "Representative Thompson will not be attending, but his aide will be there as an observer. If any statements from ICQ or Microsoft involve unfair competition or discriminatory remarks, we will record them as material for future political pressure."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. We're already partners," James said. "Have a good night."
After hanging up the phone, the sky outside the window gradually darkened. In Silicon Valley at dusk, the sky is orange-red, and the clouds are edged with gold by the setting sun.
At 7 p.m., at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the ICQ launch event was being held. A huge blue banner hung outside the venue, displaying the ICQ logo and the words "American Instant Messaging." Media reporters lined up to enter, their flashes going off constantly.
Xingchen Technology did not send anyone to the site. However, the press conference was being streamed live online on a large screen in the company's conference room.
Ling Yun, Carly, David, Elsa, and others sat in the conference room, staring at the screen.
At 7:30, the press conference began. The CEO of ICQ took the stage to introduce the new product features: deep integration with Outlook, faster file transfer, and group video calls. Then Microsoft's Steve Ballmer took the stage, wearing his signature sweatshirt and beaming.
"Tonight, we're not just launching a product," Ballmer said to the camera. "We're defending an idea: the internet should be open, secure, and belong to everyone, but security requires trust. You must trust the tools you use, trust the companies behind those tools, and trust the laws and values those companies uphold."
He paused, his expression turning serious.
"People come from different places and have different backgrounds, which is great. Diversity makes Silicon Valley strong. But when it comes to your privacy, your data, and your communications, you need to know that what protects these things is American law, American values, and America's commitment to individual rights."
The name of the star language was not mentioned, but the meaning was clear.
Applause erupted from the audience.
Ballmer continued, "So today we're announcing that ICQ will partner with Microsoft to establish a 'User Privacy Protection Fund,' with an initial investment of five million dollars to support legal research and public education on digital privacy. We want every user to know that we're here to protect their rights."
More applause erupted from the audience.
The conference room of Xingchen Technology was silent in front of the screen.
"He's using a fallacy of semantics," David broke the silence, "linking the issues of nationality and privacy together."
"But the audience will buy it," Elsa said. "Patriotism is easily stirred up."
Carly looked at Ling Yun. Ling Yun stared at the screen, his expression calm, but his fingers tapped lightly on the table, a habitual gesture when he was thinking.
"What time does our online demo start?" he asked.
"Eight o'clock," David said.
"Let's begin now," Ling Yun said. "We can't wait any longer."
"But the original plan..."
"The plan has changed." Ling Yun stood up. "They talk about values, we talk about facts. They talk about nationality, we talk about technology. They talk about trust, we talk about transparency. Now, let's begin."
The online demo started promptly at 8:00 AM, but we had an extra half hour for preparation. David appeared on camera as the main speaker. The background was the Star Technology office, with a user growth curve chart for Star Language displayed on the wall.
"Good evening," David said to the camera. "Tonight, many people are talking about the future of instant messaging. But the future isn't built on slogans, it's built on code, on products, and on real user value."
He switched to the demo interface.
"First, I want to demonstrate StarTalk's latest feature: end-to-end encryption." He opened a chat window, typed some text, and then clicked the encryption button. "From this moment on, only the sender and receiver can read this message. Even we ourselves cannot decrypt it. What does this mean? It means true privacy, not just a promise, but mathematics."
Next is the data storage transparency panel. "You can see in real time where your chat data is stored. Our servers are distributed across twelve data centers worldwide, and you can choose to store your data in any jurisdiction you trust."
Then comes a summary of the third-party audit report. "PwC's independent team spent three months reviewing over two million lines of our code. The conclusion is here: no backdoors were found, no unusual data collection was found, and all privacy policies were consistent with the code implementation."
The demonstration lasted forty-five minutes. At the end, David said, "Tonight, some people tried to divide users by nationality and define trust by borders. But we believe that good technology has no nationality, and true privacy knows no borders. Star Language belongs to everyone who values their privacy, regardless of where you come from, where you live, or what you believe."
The demonstration ended with a peak viewership of 120,000, primarily developers and tech enthusiasts.
But Lingyun knew that wasn't enough. ICQ's launch event was aimed at the general public, while Xingyu's demonstration was aimed at professionals. The war of public opinion was a battle for the middle ground—ordinary users who didn't understand technology but cared about their privacy.