The Canadian government has banned the Chinese social media application WeChat from government phones, citing an “unacceptable level of risk” to security and privacy.
It’s the third Chinese technology brand that has seen its usage in Canada restricted by the Canadian government in about 16 months.In February 2023 it banned TikTok from federal government devices, citing, like it did for WeChat, an “unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” The social media platform, which features short video clips, is a subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance.
“The Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that WeChat and Kaspersky suite of applications present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security. On a mobile device, the WeChat and Kaspersky applications’ data collection methods provide considerable access to the device’s contents,” Canada’s Treasury Board Secretariat, currently headed by Anita Anand, said in a statement.