Australian Senate committee warns TikTok and WeChat could be the country's biggest security risks

Two phones running TikTok and WeChat apps
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Update: This article was updated to correctly identify the parent companies of both TikTok and WeChat.


In the wake of an existing ban on TikTok, an Australian Senate committee has recommended WeChat be banned from all Australian government devices. The move comes amid concerns that WeChat poses national and personal security risks and suggests a nationwide ban on both apps may be considered.

According to reporting by the Associated Press, James Paterson, chair of the Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, said on Wednesday the report's recommendations would make Australia a more difficult target for the serious foreign interference risks that he says the nation faces. The full report can be found here.

"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," Paterson told reporters.

WeChat is owned by Tencent. It's a hugely popular Chinese app. It functions as a social media app, payment gateway and gaming platform on top of its core messaging functionality. Tencent is well known for its gaming investments and subsidiaries, including Riot Games and Epic Games. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing based company.

As Tencent and ByteDance are Chinese headquartered companies, they fall under the purview of the Chinese government, which means apps are subject to censorship protocols and the requirement to share data with Chinese authorities. These provisions make foreign governments understandably nervous.

Your next upgrade

Nvidia RTX 4070 and RTX 3080 Founders Edition graphics cards

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.
Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.
Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.
Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.

Australia is far from the only country to consider or implement bans. TikTok is banned from government devices in many European countries, a majority of US states, and Canada among others. It's completely banned in India.

The relationship between Australia and China is generally one of engagement and co-operation, but in recent years has become more volatile. China is Australia's largest trading partner but concerns over its influence in Australian domestic affairs are rising. China and Australia's overlapping spheres of influence, and concerns over human rights issues, remain potential flashpoints.

As China's global influence rises, and its tech sector continues to develop, it's hard to see anything other than a rise in tensions with the west. The increased banning of Chinese software is just one part of the developing technology conflict. Efforts to shore up domestic chip production and restrict sales of high tech items to China are just part of what is developing into a 21st century cold war. That's if we're not there already.

Chris Szewczyk
Hardware Writer

Chris' gaming experiences go back to the mid-nineties when he conned his parents into buying an 'educational PC' that was conveniently overpowered to play Doom and Tie Fighter. He developed a love of extreme overclocking that destroyed his savings despite the cheaper hardware on offer via his job at a PC store. To afford more LN2 he began moonlighting as a reviewer for VR-Zone before jumping the fence to work for MSI Australia. Since then, he's gone back to journalism, enthusiastically reviewing the latest and greatest components for PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay and currently Australian Personal Computer magazine and PC Gamer. Chris still puts far too many hours into Borderlands 3, always striving to become a more efficient killer.

Read more
A phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of the US flag.
TikTok users wave goodbye to their 'Chinese spies' as they they ditch the app for another, er, Chinese one
A phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of the US flag.
TikTok's time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he 'opposes banning' it
The TikTok app with Donald Trump ranting behind it.
So is the US banning TikTok or not? The Supreme Court says go for it, but it's up to Trump now: 'You're going to see what I'm going to do'
TP-Link AXE75 Wi-Fi 6E router
US congressman calls again for the government to ban Chinese-made TP-Link routers: 'I would not have that in my home'
The TikTok app with Donald Trump ranting behind it.
Trump says the United States is already talking to potential TikTok buyers: 'We're dealing with four different groups, and a lot of people want it ... all four are good'
A phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of the US flag.
TikTok is already back online in the US after less than a day, with ByteDance thanking President-elect Trump for 'providing the necessary clarity and assurance' it can keep running
Latest in Hardware
A Gigabyte RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice on a desk and installed in a gaming PC.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF review
A late afternoon view shows two young women walking past a wall-sized anime mural along Chuo-dori (Central Avenue) in the Akihabara district (known as Electric Town for its maze of electronics stores, but currently considered an almost sacred destination by members of Japan's otaku culture, drawn to Akihabara's video game centers, maid cafes, anime shops, and manga comics), located in Chiyoda Ward in central Tokyo, Japan.
OpenAI's GPT-4o model gets image generation update for all of your anime-style selfie needs
A Nacon Rig Streamstar M2 microphone on white gravel, shot in 3/4 profile
Nacon Rig M2 Streamstar review
1X Technologies humanoid robot, the Neo Gamma, standing alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang is wearing an ERL-made studded leather jacket.
Humanoid robot Neo Gamma gifts Nvidia CEO a studded leather jacket and may even be able to one day wash up a cup without dropping it
Razer Blade 16 (2025) gaming laptop
Nvidia RTX 5090 mobile tested: The needle hasn't moved on performance but this is the first time I'd consider ditching my desktop for a gaming laptop
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
Latest in News
SUQIAN, CHINA - OCTOBER 6, 2024 - Illustration Tencent's plan to buy Ubisoft, Suqian, Jiangsu province, China, October 6, 2024. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ubisoft and Tencent are forming a new company that will take control of its most successful franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six
A motley crew riding out in point-and-click adventure Rosewater
Promising '90s style point-and-clicker Rosewater rides out today, featuring trail-worn cowpoke authors and weird alt-universe science
A girl cheering in Everybody's Golf Hot Shots.
My favourite, most underrated anime golf game series is actually getting a PC entry for the first time in its nearly 30-year history
A shock trap transformed into a Lego brick in Monster Hunter Wilds.
A modder keeps turning Monster Hunter traps into Lego bricks so that the monsters will know true pain, and they've just done it again
live action Jimbo the Jester from Balatro holding a playing card and addressing the camera
You've probably been pronouncing Balatro wrong all along, but 'it's kind of a gif/jif situation'
A late afternoon view shows two young women walking past a wall-sized anime mural along Chuo-dori (Central Avenue) in the Akihabara district (known as Electric Town for its maze of electronics stores, but currently considered an almost sacred destination by members of Japan's otaku culture, drawn to Akihabara's video game centers, maid cafes, anime shops, and manga comics), located in Chiyoda Ward in central Tokyo, Japan.
OpenAI's GPT-4o model gets image generation update for all of your anime-style selfie needs