Information/Technology - 10. page

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that the Austrian Federal Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, announced that the government will ban civil servants from using the Chinese-owned short video sharing application TikTok on their official mobile phones. This means another country joins the growing list of those who have banned the use of TikTok, Including the United Kingdom, the United States and several European Union (EU) member states. Many Western countries have banned the use of TikTok on official devices based on national security concerns. The EU’s two largest decision-making bodies also imposed a ban on TikTok in March. When Gerhard Karner was interviewed before the regular weekly cabinet meeting today, he was asked whether Austrian government officials could continue to use TikTok. He told reporters that official mobile phone use will be banned. However, using TikTok with private mobile phones outside the federal network is still possible. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It is under scrutiny from a number of governments and regulators amid concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to collect user data or advance its own interests.

Source: China Times, May 11, 2023
https://www.chinatimes.com/cn/realtimenews/20230510006402-260408?chdtv

Hong Kong Economic Times (HKET), the leading financial daily in Hong Kong, recently reported that, German Interior Minister Nancy Farser said the ministry is checking all Chinese components already installed in Germany’s 5G network. The practice is to protect the country’s communications network. The three priorities of the inspection are to identify risks, avoid crises and avoid dependencies. She emphasized that relevant inspection is particularly important for key 5G network infrastructure. This could be an important move by German authorities to deal with security concerns. Domestic German media earlier quoted sources as saying that Berlin is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE in the telecommunications network. The Ministry of the Interior later denied it, emphasizing that it only comprehensively reviewed all suppliers to avoid over-reliance on individual suppliers. The Chinese embassy in Germany responded that China firmly opposes Germany’s generalization of the national security concept, abusing state power to interfere in the free market, and undermining the principle of fair competition.

Source: HKET, April 16, 2023
https://bit.ly/41AvDUC

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that, Apple’s rush to “Made in India” has been fruitful, with over US$7 billion worth of iPhones assembled in India in its last fiscal year. This means tripling iPhone production in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market. Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron played an important role. The three major Taiwanese foundries’ Indian manufacturing business grew simultaneously and became big winners. With the help from its Taiwanese partners, Apple produced about 7 percent of iPhones in India in the last fiscal year, a huge jump from the previous 1 percent. In the current fiscal year, Apple assembled more than US$7 billion in iPhones in India by the end of March, of which US$5 billion was exported, nearly four times the amount in the previous year. Apple may attempt to produce the next generation of mobile phones simultaneously in India and Mainland China, possibly in the fall of this year, which will be the first time that Apple mobile phones get assembled simultaneously in China and India. A quarter of Apple’s phones could be assembled in India by 2025, if suppliers continue to expand aggressively.

Source: UDN, April 14, 2023
https://udn.com/news/story/7240/7096899

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that, the Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption issued an announcement, adding Xiaomi to the list of so-called “war sponsors” and imposing sanctions. The “Sponsors of International War” list includes a number of foreign companies that Ukraine believes have been “funding” Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Most of these companies did not withdraw from the Russian market after February 24 last year. The reason for Xiaomi’s inclusion on the list is that “the company continues to operate in Russia and maintains a leading position in the Russian smartphone market.” The announcement also cited some of Xiaomi’s efforts to increase the size of its Russian office staff. Since 2018, Xiaomi has ranked first in the sales of online stores in Russia, and has a large offline official authorized retail network throughout Russia. Based on the data for the third quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter, Xiaomi’s supply to Russia has increased by 39 percent. Currently, Xiaomi ranks third in the global smartphone shipment rankings, with a global market share of 12.8 percent.

Source: NetEase, April 15, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I2ATRES80512B07B.html

Global Times recently reported that Australian media disclosed earlier that, on April 4th, Australian Prime Minister Albanese approved a ban on the use of TikTok on equipment within the Australian government, and notified the state and territory governments about the ban. They are expected to follow suit. The Australian government decided that the ban will target all government-issued equipment, citing a so-called “espionage risk.” The move is in line with Australia’s “Five Eyes” partners – the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand. The Australian Federal Attorney General declared in a statement that this decision was made on the advice of intelligence and security agencies and that the ban will come into effect as soon as it is practical. TikTok denied there are security issues and said the app poses no risk to Australian users.

Earlier, Global Times also reported that two people familiar with NATO said that NATO officials sent a notice to all staff in the organization on March 31st, announcing the prohibition of downloading and using the short video social app TikTok on NATO-provided equipment on the grounds of so-called “security considerations.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that China has always maintained that data security issues should not be used as a tool to generalize the concept of national security and unreasonably suppress companies from other countries.

Source: Global Times, April 4 and March 31, 2023
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/4CLwKcdRX1L
https://m.huanqiu.com/article/4CJMAljHzeB

Well-known Chinese news site NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) recently reported that the BBC urged staff to delete TikTok from company phones, becoming the latest international media outlet to ban the Chinese social media app. The BBC distributed a staff guide saying, “We advise against installing TikTok on BBC equipment unless there is a legitimate business reason. If you don’t need TikTok for business reasons, you should remove TikTok.” Earlier, the UK government banned TikTok on government-issued phones because the app is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The BBC, which is funded by the British government, explained that the decision was based on concerns raised by government authorities worldwide regarding data privacy and security. For staff who have TikTok installed on their personal phones but also use those devices for work reasons, the BBC asked them to contact the media’s information security team to discuss “the type of BBC information you are dealing with.” A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC takes the safety and security of our systems, data and people incredibly seriously. We constantly review activity on third-party platforms – including TikTok – and will continue to do so.” The BBC is the latest media outlet to issue a ban on TikTok. On March 9, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) advised employees not to use TikTok on their work phones.

Source: NetEase, March 20, 2023
https://www.163.com/dy/article/I08T5DU4055623ZE.html

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that British cabinet minister Oliver Dowden announced in the House of Commons that the British government will ban government staff from using the Chinese app TikTok on official mobile phones. The ban then took effect immediately. The UK’s move is in line with the U.S. and the European Commission, marking a “180-degree shift” in the UK’s previous position.

Earlier, United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, also reported that the Belgian Prime Minister said on March 10, because of concerns about online security, privacy and disinformation, that, for at least six months, Belgium will temporarily ban the use of TikTok on devices owned or paid for by the Belgian federal government. In the meantime, the Danish public broadcaster and TV station Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) advised employees not to use TikTok on business mobile phones due to security concerns. This is the first news organization to issue such an advice.

In addition, the New Zealand Chinese online news site Solace Media also reported that Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, chief executive of Parliamentary Services, said that, following the advice from cybersecurity experts, Parliamentary Services have informed Members of Parliament and staff that TikTok should be removed from all devices that have access to Parliament’s network.

Sources:
(1) Sina, March 16, 2023
https://k.sina.com.cn/article_1686546714_6486a91a02001unh8.html?from=news&subch=onews
(2) UDN, March 10, 2023
https://udn.com/news/story/7332/7024437?from=udn-relatednews_ch2
(3) Solace Media, March 17, 2023
https://bit.ly/42jEnPB