Taiwan National Security Bureau Warns Chinese Apps Over Data Risks

Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB), in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, issued a warning about significant cybersecurity risks posed by five Chinese apps: Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version), RedNote, Weibo, WeChat, and Baidu Cloud. These apps were found to excessively collect personal data including facial recognition, screenshots, clipboard contents, contacts, and location information without user consent, and send this data to servers in China, raising serious privacy and security concerns. The NSB's investigation, using a 15-point security testing standard, revealed that RedNote failed all checks, while Weibo and Douyin violated 13, WeChat 10, and Baidu Cloud 9 indicators, highlighting systemic issues of data collection, permission abuse, and data sharing. Taiwan warned the public to exercise caution when using these China-developed apps due to the risk of data misuse, especially given Chinese laws that compel companies to share user data with authorities for national security purposes. Similar concerns have led other countries like India and Canada to ban or restrict these apps. The NSB's advisory emphasizes the potential for privacy infringement and national security risks stemming from these data transmissions to China.