Australian PM Morrison’s WeChat account hijacked
Senior coalition MPs in Australia on Monday accused China of foreign interference after Prime Minister Scott Morrison‘s account on Chinese instant messaging platform WeChat was hijacked. The Prime Minister’s Office is working to have the account restored.
The Australian PM Scott Morrison’s account name was changed earlier this month. His account is now called “Australian-Chinese New Life” and the description is: “Providing living in Australia information for the Chinese community.” The Prime Minister is now unable to access the account at all.
“It is a matter of record that the platform has stopped the Prime Minister’s access, while (Opposition Leader) Anthony Albanese‘s account is still active featuring posts criticizing the government,” Liberal representative Gladys Liu said.
In China, Tencent-run WeChat has faced growing regulation for collecting more user data than deemed necessary when offering services.
Coalition MP and chair of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee, James Paterson, said he believed the move was an act of foreign interference by the Chinese government.
“WeChat is owned by Tencent, which is one of the most closely controlled, theoretically private companies in China,” he said. Federal Labour MP Mark Butler said the opposition was deeply concerned at the blocking on the Prime Minister’s account.
WeChat official accounts allow public figures, media companies, and businesses to connect to more than 1.2 billion active users in mainland China.
According to Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Fergus Ryan, Morrison’s account is registered to a Chinese national as WeChat’s policies at the time required for accounts to either be linked to the ID of a Chinese national or business registered in China.
In China, WeChat has faced growing regulation, having been put on notice last year for collecting more user data than deemed necessary when offering services.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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