“The Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that WeChat and Kaspersky suite of applications present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” the announcement states. “On a mobile device, the WeChat and Kaspersky applications data collection methods provide considerable access to the device’s contents.”
WeChat and its China-only version Weixin have over 1.3 billion monthly average users according to Chinese tech giant Tencent’s. The apps offer messaging, social media, and payment services – a combo Elon Musk hopes to replicate with his planned evolution of X into an “everything app”. WeChat is thought to be a channel Beijing uses to contact, and influence, the Chinese diaspora, a theory that has earned it critics in some governments. In 2021, for example, the Trump administrationAustralia considers WeChat a highly risky chunk of code and some government departments only allow it on devices when there is a clear need for its presence.
Another Chinese app, TikTok, has fared far worse, being banned from government devices down under, in the USA, Taiwan, the UK, and across the European Union.Anand characterised the decision to bin WeChat and Kaspersky as motivated by “a risk-based approach to cyber security” and “to ensure that Government of Canada networks and data remain secure and protected and are in line with the approach of our international partners.
Canada is a member of the Five Eyes security alliance, so the prospect of government devices leaking info gathered by its partners is not a pleasant one.Uncle Sam orders Nvidia to cease most AI chip sales in China 'immediately'Beijing-backed server chip startup formed by ex-Arm China execs