China state-run companies said to be banning employees using Weixin

Soon after reports about Tencent's apps requiring inspection, the company has reportedly dealt with another blow as state companies in China are restricting their employees to use Weixin due to security concerns.

A Wall Street Journal report said at least nine state-run companies are banning their employees to use Weixin including the largest companies such as China Mobile, China Construction Bank, China National Petroleum. These companies told employees that any chat groups setting up for work purposes on Weixin, Tencent's messaging app in China, could contain sensitive information. These group should be shut down and deleted.

In a report from the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Tencent said businesses from around the world are using enterprise software to conduct internal communication, adding that it will offer it WeCom as a solution to meet businesses' needs. 

Yesterday, Chinese tech giant Tencent has been required to submit new apps or updates for inspection before uploading as its apps were said to have infringed users' rights and interests. The new requirement did not hamper the use of existing apps, according to multiple media reports. In a report from Reuters, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice that all mobile apps and updates will need to have a review before uploading to app stores. It was reported that the process will take about seven days.

A spokesman of Tencent said, "We are continuously working to enhance user protection features within our apps, and also have regular cooperation with relevant government agencies to ensure regulatory compliance. Our apps remain functional and available for download."

Meanwhile, in a report from the South China Morning Post, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has told app stores and platforms to follow orders to suspend Tencent's apps from updating from Wednesday, including its superapp WeChat in China that has 1.25 billion users.

The report did not indicate how long the suspension will be and after a brief search on the website of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, there is no information about the ban.

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