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Comment by alexmingoia | Hacker News Reader

The same, especially with regards to communications and consumer goods. We’re talking about a chat and payments app...

It’s not an actual national security issue like selling China nukes or something.

Private chats can contain sensitive material that could be used to extort/blackmail government officials and/or business leaders, and in-app payments can be used for tax evasion, money laundering and bypassing sanctions. That in combination with the fact that TenCent or any large Chinese corporation is essentially an extension of the government means that WeChat can very plausibly become a threat to national security if it gains widespread adoption.

While I agree with your stance that this is infringing on personal freedoms of American citizens, and I too wish our leaders wouldn't always so eagerly infringe on personal freedoms in the name of national security, the national security claim itself does have merit.

The military and government officials can avoid use of the apps, without banning them for Americans. As they have before WeChat, and before the Internet.

I think the notion that WeChat is a threat to national security is honestly ridiculous. National security is a legal excuse to do things Trump otherwise wouldn’t be able to do in his pursuit of a trade war.

There's no way to predict in advance who's going to become a government official. When they do, and if they used WeChat before then, the damage is done. Material on those close to the officials can also be used against them in similar manner.

Again, not condoning the restriction of personal freedoms, but the national security angle is not totally without merit.

Yes, this. There are very few degrees of separation in social networks and people leak personal and private information to social networks all the time. It can and will be used against you. It can also be used as a propaganda outlet. Social media has already shown its impressive abilities to manipulate people's emotions and behaviors, in mass numbers.

You are refusing to look at the bigger picture. China is at a silent war with western countries -it has been for decades. Tech is the backbone of China. We have to hit them where it hurts in order to contain them, otherwise you lose much more than "your ability to trade". China just recently passed a law criminializing anybody outside China - of any nationality - criticizing China or its regime.

While people like you whine about your chat app, it can be a matter of life and death if China is allowed to continue.

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