Canada’s federal government announced on Monday that it has banned Chinese messaging application WeChat and Russian antivirus program Kaspersky on government-issued mobile devices due to privacy and security risks, Reuters reported.
The media outlet noted that China's foreign ministry said a ban on Chinese enterprises without any real evidence "abused national power and unreasonably suppresses the behavior of enterprises in specific countries".
"We hope that the Canadian side will discard ideological prejudices, abide by the principles of market economy and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises," China government spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Kaspersky also stated that it was surprised and disappointed, and that the decision was made without warning or an opportunity for the company to address the government's concerns.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Treasury Board said it has no evidence that government information has been compromised, but the collection methods of the applications provide considerable access to a device's contents, and risks of using them were "clear."
In February, the Canadian government banned TikTok, the video app owned by Chinese company Bytedance, from government-issued devices due to similar privacy and security concerns.
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