Dear MEL Topic Readers,
What is WeChat and why
does Trump want to ban it?
When you go to China, it’s
not Facebook, Google, or email, but WeChat that does it all. It was originally a
messaging app but it has become a lifeline platform as it added functions like
searching, contacting, booking, reporting, payment, and bank services over time.
It has 1.2 billion active users, most of whom live in mainland China. Users of
WeChat not only stores personal information but also adds traces of any activity,
interaction, and transaction every time the app is used. For example, information
like when, where, and what the user ate lunch and paid how much, and with whom if
he or she shared the bill. Such information of an ordinary citizen is only valuable
for businesses to provide tailor-made recommendations and promote suitable products
or services. But if the information, interactions, and transactions of business
executives or government officials are shared by their competitors, especially by
government controlled or subsidized enterprises, it could bring about a competitive advantage to China and pose risks to other countries. That seems to
be the rationale the Trump administration is using to ban the use of Chinese
app in the US.
Enjoy reading the article
and learn about what WeChat is about.
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