The Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app WeChat is being used by authorities as a powerful surveillance tool to justify arrests, issue threats, and silence dissidents, reports The Wall Street Journal.
WeChat and sister app, Weixin, developed by Chinese tech giant Tencent Inc., have more than 1.2 billion monthly active users in China. Chinese consumers use it to make payments, book flights, hotels, and doctors appointments, and use government services.
When people exchange contact details with the app, they often scan the other person’s phone. The service is more prevalent than email and other social media sites because services like Facebook are blocked there.
One Chinese student studying in Australia told the Journal his account was blocked after he posted critical comments of the Chinese government.
“It puts me in a very awkward situation because having your WeChat blocked means telling others you have dissenting political views, which is frowned upon when you are looking for a job,” he said.
Rights activists have described the app as a “prison” that keeps users within reach of the Chinese Communist Party and say China's state security police uses information from it to carry out surveillance and harassment of dissidents and activists in exile who speak out about human rights abuses in the country.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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