Ottawa bans Chinese and Russian apps from its phones

Ottawa | After TikTok, the federal government banned the download and use of a Chinese social network and Russian cybersecurity software from its officials’ phones due to risks to their privacy and national security.

“On mobile devices, the data collection methods of the WeChat and Kaspersky applications provide significant access to the content of the latter,” we can read in a press release issued by the Secretariat of the Treasury Board of Canada.

The social network WeChat, which is very popular in China, has more than one billion users.

Like Facebook, it allows you to send text and voice messages, post statuses, but also make online payments.

Last February, Ottawa banned TikTok, another popular Chinese app, from its mobile devices for security reasons.

Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky offers computer security services such as antivirus software.

Ottawa says it has no reason “to believe that government information has been compromised,” and that its approach is precautionary.

The ministry continued: “The decision to delete and block WeChat and Kaspersky applications was made to ensure that Canadian government networks and data remain safe and protected.”

As for the use of its applications by the general public, it is above all a personal choice, we add.