An Australian Senate committee is recommending WeChat be banned from government devices, much like TikTok.
Australia joined the US, UK, Canada, and the EU, banning TikTok from government devices in April 2023. According to AP News, the Australian Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media is recommending that ban be extended to include WeChat, the popular messaging app that is also based in China.
“It tackles both the problems posed by authoritarian-headquartered social media platforms like TikTok and WeChat and Western-headquartered social media platforms being weaponized by the actions of authoritarian governments including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter,” Committee chair James Paterson told reporters.