Canada has banned the Chinese super-app WeChat from official government devices, citing cybersecurity risks. The ban, effective immediately, also applies to applications from Kaspersky Lab, a Russian maker of antivirus programs. Canada’s chief information officer determined that both WeChat and the Kaspersky suite of applications pose an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security. These apps were found to have considerable access to the contents of mobile devices, though there was no evidence of government information compromise. Users of Canadian government cellphones will have the apps removed and be blocked from downloading them in the future.
WeChat is one of the world’s most popular apps, used by more than 1 billion users primarily in mainland China. It offers a wide range of services, including social networking, messaging, payments, and more, all within the app. In February, Canada banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices due to cybersecurity concerns. US and allied officials have expressed similar concerns about TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, potentially sharing user data with the Chinese government. While WeChat has faced less scrutiny compared to TikTok, it remains a prominent app among Chinese speakers.
In August 2020, former US President Donald Trump attempted to ban both WeChat and TikTok by issuing executive orders, but these orders were later blocked by an injunction, and President Joe Biden revoked the Trump-era orders.