Cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0 claims the rapidly deteriorating legal status of Hong Kong has undermined any claims by Chinese social media app WeChat that user data is being protected.
On Sept. 30, 2020, WeChat made a written submission to the Australian Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, claiming that user data was protected on the basis that much of its technical architecture was located in Hong Kong.
However, the takeover of the city in mid-2020 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) undermined any legal protection that the global city offered WeChat’s international users.
“This erosion of legal autonomy is important because WeChat has structured its operational architecture, terms of service and company structure on the consensus that Hong Kong is a more compatible legal jurisdiction to the international community,” the report said….