Jan 07, 2022 20:00:00

Swiss army bans the use of foreign-made messenger apps in military operations, OK if the app is based in the country

Message apps such as LINE and WhatsApp can send and receive a lot of information such as sentences, photos, movies, location information, etc., but as it became clear that WhatsApp etc. have acquired a large amount of user data, each service also concerns with respect to the handling of personal information

will not occur . These services are also used by government agencies, but it is reported that the Swiss Army has restricted the use of messaging apps managed outside Switzerland for security reasons.

Swiss army restricts use of messenger apps --SWI swissinfo.ch
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/swiss-army-restricts-use-of-messenger-apps/47238938

According to Swissinfo.ch, Switzerland's international news site, WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging app in Switzerland. The operating company of WhatsApp is based in the United States, and the data sent and received by WhatsApp is managed in accordance with the laws of the United States.

The US government can request companies based in the United States to disclose data after following the criminal procedure. In response to this situation, the Swiss army restricted the use of message apps managed outside Switzerland such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram in military operations in order to ensure the security of communication via message apps, and originated from Switzerland. We have adopted the message app ' Threema ' as a standard app. Threema's official website emphasizes that it is '100% Swiss', 'does not collect user information', and is 'compliant with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)'.

According to Swissinfo., Threema's annual membership fee will be borne by the military. In addition, there are no penalties for members who continue to use messaging apps other than Threema.

In Japan, in March 2021, it was discovered that LINE data was accessible from China and managed in South Korea, so the use of LINE by government agencies was suspended . After that, in December 2021, a measure plan was put together to announce the installation destination of the server that stores personal information and the country of the outsourced business to SNS operators with more than 10 million users. ..