The Taiwan government has banned the use of video-calling app Zoom in the conduct of its business activities over Chinese security fears.
Reports revealed that some Zoom traffic was “mistakenly” routed through China, which does not recognise Taiwan’s independence.
The Taiwan government also said that public bodies should not use products with security concerns “such as Zoom”.
But competitors like Google and Microsoft were acceptable, it said.
China has refused to recognize Taiwan’s independence as it considers the country as a breakaway rebel province, destined to be reunited with the mainland.
Last week, researchers discovered that some traffic from the video-calling app was being sent through Beijing – even when all participants on the Zoom call were in North America.
The team from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab also highlighted that Zoom has several hundred employees in mainland China, which “could also open up Zoom to pressure from Chinese authorities”.
Zoom said the traffic was “mistakenly” routed through Beijing and apologised.
Despite the apology from Zoom, Taiwan has told its public institutions to use other software.
Taiwan also said that it wants domestic solutions used where possible, adding that in special circumstances, Google or Microsoft’s apps were acceptable. Those firms operate the Duo and Skype services respectively.
It is the latest setback to Zoom which has seen the use of its platform surge during the COVID-19 pandemic leading to increased scrutiny.
Zoom has however promised to improve its security and privacy features.
