Chinese tech companies are having a rough year in India! First Huawei and ZTE were refused domestic telecom status, then they were placed under investigation by Indian intelligence authorities, and now it seems that Tencent’s WeChat has come under the microscope of those same authorities. The Hindu reports that Indian intelligence officials have told the National Security Advisor that apps like WeChat pose “new cyber threats.”
Exactly what those threats are isn’t clear, but the service will be investigated by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Telecom before a final call is made on whether or not WeChat will be allowed to operate permanently in India, according to a source in The Hindu article.
Although WeChat’s Chinese origins — the service is operated by Tencent — are probably part of the Indian government’s reason for concern, in fairness the country also recently initiated an investigation of Canadian company Blackberry, citing similar concerns. India, it seems, is planning to be quite cautious about what foreign service providers are allowed to operate within its borders.
(via The Hindu Business Line)
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