Canada Implements Ban on WeChat from Government Devices Citing Security Concerns
Canada bans WeChat from government devices due to cybersecurity concerns, following the earlier action taken against TikTok
Canada has prohibited the use of the Chinese super-app WeChat and applications from Kaspersky Lab, a Russian antivirus software manufacturer, on official government devices. This decision, made due to cybersecurity concerns, mirrors the previous action taken against the short-form video app TikTok earlier this year.
According to a statement from the Treasury Board of Canada, the country's chief information officer has deemed "WeChat and the Kaspersky suite of applications to pose an unacceptable risk to privacy and security." The statement explains that on mobile devices, these applications have extensive access to the device's content. However, the statement also specifies that there is currently no evidence of any compromise of government information.
Canadian government users will no longer have access to the apps and will be prohibited from downloading them again in the future. CNN has contacted Tencent, the owner of WeChat, and Kaspersky Lab for their statements.
WeChat, a widely used app globally, is often likened to the combination of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and PayPal. With over 1 billion users, especially in mainland China, this social network serves as a one-stop platform for various activities such as online shopping, scheduling fitness sessions, and managing financial transactions, eliminating the need for separate apps.
In February, due to cybersecurity concerns, the Canadian government prohibited the use of TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, on government-issued mobile devices.
There have been concerns raised by US and allied officials regarding the possibility of TikTok or ByteDance being coerced by the Chinese government to disclose the personal data of TikTok users.
The Chinese Communist Party has been accused by Yintao Yu, a former ByteDance employee, of accessing TikTok user data for political reasons. This allegation, made in May during a wrongful termination case in California, is disputed by TikTok. Wechat, on the other hand, has faced less scrutiny from global governments in the past year compared to TikTok, likely due to its popularity among Chinese speakers.
In August 2020, former US President Donald Trump attempted to enforce a ban on Wechat and TikTok through executive orders. However, these orders were ultimately halted by a legal injunction. Eventually, President Joe Biden rescinded the executive orders that were enacted during the Trump administration.
