Australia mulls banning WeChat from government devices amid ‘national security risks’
- An inquiry into foreign interference said China-linked apps like WeChat and TikTok could be made to ‘secretly cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies’
- WeChat has rejected the findings it is a ‘high-risk’ app, but said it would continue working with Canberra to iron out concerns
Chinese messaging app WeChat has disagreed with the way it was depicted in an Australian parliamentary report, including being singled out alongside TikTok as having “unique national security risks”, but said it would continue to work with Canberra over its concerns.
On Tuesday, an Australian inquiry into foreign interference through social media laid down its findings, which included recommendations on banning WeChat on government devices.
In April, Australia banned TikTok on government devices in line with its Western allies including the United States and Britain.
“We are reviewing the committee’s report and recommendations in detail. As we communicated to the Senate committee, WeChat is committed to protecting user privacy and providing its users with a safe, secure and diverse platform for communicating with friends, family and businesses,” WeChat said in a statement to This Week in Asia.
WeChat told the inquiry committee through a written response last week that it had never been asked by Beijing to spy on users.
