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Canada has banned the use of the Chinese instant messaging application WeChat on any government-issued mobile devices, citing the need to keep "government information and networks secure."Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced the immediate "risk-based" ban Monday, which is also being applied to the Russian Kaspersky suite of anti-virus and IT security applications.These applications are being removed from all government-issued mobile devices, and users will be blocked from downloading these apps going forward."The Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that WeChat and Kaspersky suite of applications present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security," Anand said in a statement.
"On a mobile device, the WeChat and Kaspersky applications' data collection methods provide considerable access to the device's contents."The government said this decision was made to protect the security of federal networks and data, while emphasizing that despite the risks, there is "no evidence" that government information has been compromised.As for whether individual Canadians should consider following the government's lead, that remains "a personal choice," Monday's statement said.This move follows the federal government's decision in February to ban TikTok on government-issued devices, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called "a first step."Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responding to an AFP journalist's question regarding this matter during the press conference on October 31, stated that:WeChat is a social network platform operated by a private enterprise. The Chinese government has always demanded that Chinese enterprises strictly comply with local laws and regulations when operating overseas.The Canadian government, under the guise of maintaining data security, has imposed a ban on Chinese enterprises in Canada, which is a typical generalization of national security concepts, abuse of national power, and unreasonable suppression of specific country enterprises, China firmly opposes this."We hope that the Canadian side will abandon ideological biases, adhere to the principles of a market economy, and provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises, " Wang Wenbin emphasized.Reference: CTV, ThePaper.cn
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