"And furthermore, the company did not reply to us when we sent them questions specifically about our report." Censoring keywords and images "We didn't get back much that's meaningful and certainly not anything that points towards this type of data practice," said Deibert. The questions centred on WeChat's policies and how it shares and uses international users' data.
The researchers at Citizen Lab say they examined WeChat's terms of service and privacy policies for users inside and outside China, and asked for information from Tencent's data international protection office more than once, starting in January. User privacy and data security are core values at Tencent, and we look forward to continuing to sustain user trust and deliver great user experiences." "As a publicly listed global company we hold ourselves to the highest standards, and our policies and procedures comply with all laws and regulations in each country in which we operate. However, with regard to the suggestion that we engage in content surveillance of international users, we can confirm that all content shared among international users of WeChat is private," the spokesperson wrote. "We received the Citizen Lab report and take it seriously. So you're implicated in it," said Deibert.ĬBC News contacted WeChat's parent company, Tencent, through its corporate website and a public relations representative numerous times in an attempt to get a comment on the findings of the study. Tencent said it didn't have anyone available for an on-camera interview and did not respond to a request for a statement.Ī day after publication, a U.S.-based Tencent spokesperson emailed CBC News a statement.
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To the extent that you're using this application, you're also essentially providing free labour for the refinement of a machine of digital repression inside China.
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(Riley Stewart)Ĭitizen Lab came to its conclusion after a series of tests over three months, from November 2019 to January 2020. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary research and development hothouse working at the intersection of the Internet, global security, and human rights. Ron Deibert is director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.
"That data is being used to then train the algorithms to better undertake censorship and surveillance of mainland China's users. "The company is essentially undertaking political surveillance on one segment of users, those who are using their international version of the application outside of mainland China," said Ron Deibert, the director of Citizen Lab. Research by Citizen Lab found that documents and images sent between users with accounts registered outside China triggered censorship when those same documents and images were sent to a user inside China. Globally, it has more than one billion users. WeChat, which allows users to send messages, interact on social networks and make digital payments, is owned by the Chinese communications company Tencent and is the most popular social networking app in China. Canadian users of the popular social networking app WeChat are likely helping the Chinese company censor its users inside China, according to research from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab.
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