Canada has decided to stop its government employees from using WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, and Kaspersky, a Russian antivirus program, on their work devices.
The main reason behind this decision is concerns about privacy and security, according to the Treasury Board of Canada.
Even though the government says that no sensitive information has been compromised, they believe that these apps present definite security risks.
This is in line with Canada’s earlier decision to ban TikTok in February for similar reasons.
What’s surprising is that the ban was sudden, leaving Kaspersky “surprised and disappointed” because they were not given a chance to address the government’s concerns.
The Treasury Board says they’re doing what their international partners are doing, which is part of a bigger trend where countries are becoming stricter about Chinese and Russian tech companies.
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But because they haven’t shown any evidence for the ban, it raises questions about how clear the decision-making process is.
Canada says they’re doing this to keep their government networks safe.
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