The recent “blocking” of WeChat in the United States has renewed the focus on the security and political risks of using the Tencent-owned application. In an environment where politics and business are inextricably linked, WeChat, which monopolizes the Chinese chat software market, appears to be one of the most powerful tools for authorities to monitor people, censor speech and even punish dissidents.
In recent years, China has intensified its efforts to suppress the freedom of expression of its citizens, and there have been numerous cases of people being convicted for what they say, a common feature of which is that the information they post via WeChat often becomes “evidence” that they have been convicted.
For example, Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was accused of “maliciously speculating about the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic in Wuhan” through WeChat and other online media, while Chongqing private entrepreneur Li Huaikeng, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, was accused of re-posting information about the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in a WeChat group of which he was the leader, and “advocating subversion of state power by means of ‘breaking news’, ‘moral resistance’, and ‘violent revolution’.
WeChat also has a “political mission”
Mr. Liu, an independent Chinese media personality who asked not to be named because of security concerns, described the Chinese authorities’ control of WeChat as “a modern version of the Stasi censorship letter”.
“A society with gendarmerie politics will censor all speech platforms as much as possible, and the authoritarian regime’s white terror shows that some conflicts and crises can no longer be muddled through.”
A report in the US Wall Street Journal on 23rd mentioned that WeChat, which currently has over 1.2 billion active users worldwide, is one of the main channels of information censorship for Chinese officials, especially during the new crown virus outbreak. In addition to deleting sensitive content, WeChat often blocks accounts that discuss topics such as the epidemic and human rights, and the police then follow up by interviewing the blocked users.
WeChat’s security is in doubt as users are repeatedly censored
Mr. Liu, who has also experienced blocking, said he never censors himself when he speaks, and he wants to “test the laws and bottom line of WeChat censorship” with his “head”.
“I found that WeChat mainly monitors groups of more than 10 people and friends, the purpose is of course to stop the spread of ‘political harmful content’. Sensitive information categories are intercepted by AI identification, which means you think you’re sending it out, but in fact others can’t see it. For the CCP, ‘discussion’ is the number one threat compared to the truth; after all, much of the stability maintenance talk and distorted news simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”
Another WeChat user, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, was blocked from posting videos related to Hong Kong’s “anti-Send China” campaign in a WeChat group, and was “sent to tea”. He said.
I was called to the police station and interrogated by three groups of people, asking: “Did you send it to other people or other groups? Why did you do that? The source of the information? —— also detained my phone for a week, warning not to forward the Hong Kong matter. I realized then that WeChat is naked.”
WeChat does not use encryption technology experts: intentional
WeChat has been criticized for exposing user privacy and questionable security performance.
Mr. Wang, who works in mobile software development, explained that the reason WeChat users’ information cannot be kept confidential lies in the fact that WeChat uses client-to-server encryption, not end-to-end encryption:.
“Client-side encryption means that in addition to you and the other party, there is a service provider who knows what you said, and there is a risk of leaking information. If it’s peer-to-peer, no one knows what you said except you and the other person. Unless you break the encryption password, but it’s very hard to break the encryption.”
He explained that WeChat’s use of client-side encryption was deliberate.
“All social networking software in China requires a service center, and the government doesn’t allow information to spread that it can’t manipulate. That’s why Twitter, Facebook, Line and other social communication software cannot be used in the mainland.”
Two birds with one stone, official monitoring and propaganda through WeChat
In an interview with our reporter, Chinese publicist Yang Zhanqing also shared how Chinese officials have used information obtained from WeChat to silence and stigmatize him. He said that WeChat, like other social networking software that the Chinese authorities can control, has become a propaganda tool and monitoring platform for the authorities.
“WeChat is a very important tool in China, it’s not just a simple chatting tool, it’s also a media tool (such as the official public website), and there are functions (such as WeChat Pay and Swipe) that involve all aspects of people’s lives that the government can monitor.”
Do people have other options?
As discontent with WeChat grows and better encrypted chat software like Telegram and Signal enter the market, more and more people are choosing to “switch” to social networking software other than WeChat.
The Wall Street Journal cites data from Apptopia, an App tracker, as showing that downloads of Telegram and Signal have been steadily increasing in the Apple App Store in China over the past few years.
However, several of these people said that even if they were aware of the serious security problems with WeChat, it would still be difficult to fully abandon the powerful and widespread WeChat. On balance, most of them chose to stay with WeChat and self-censor, developing obscure “anti-censorship” techniques. For example, coloring pictures, adding a few seconds of irrelevant content before a video, and various “dark words” to cling to the little free space left.
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