Chinese Software a Cybersecurity Risk, Taiwanese Government Says
Earlier this month, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) issued an alert on security risks posed by China-developed applications. Such apps include RedNote, Weibo, TikTok, WeChat, and Baidu Cloud. Data breaches included collections of facial-recognition information, screenshots, clipboard comments, contact lists, location information, and lists of installed apps and device parameters. The NSB noted that several of these apps send data back to servers in China, where they are required to surrender users’ data for security and intelligence purposes. The report from Taiwan’s NSB echoes concerns voiced by others in the international community.
These reports illustrate the tension between American policymakers’ goal of strong cybersecurity and proposals currently under consideration to force phone manufacturers to allow consumers to download apps from third-party sources. Proponents claim that forcing the hand of manufacturers will increase consumer choice. However, the app store security features offered by Apple and Google are a major selling point for many customers. Users’ preference for a narrower range of apps is not unfounded. The average American doesn’t have the time or technical acumen to vet apps themselves. Thus, they trust app stores to perform the vetting process. Policymakers must keep this in mind as they contemplate costly regulations that would undermine digital security.
The time and knowledge gap is evidenced by the increased rates of cybersecurity problems experienced by users who choose to venture beyond traditional app stores. Android devices, which allow sideloading (the ability to download applications from third party sources), had 15 times more infections from malicious software than iPhone devices. Some analaysts claim that the Open App Markets Act (OAMA) would restrict consumer choice and cause increased malware attacks and privacy violations.
This has dire implications in the realm of national security. App stores such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store filter out malicious or ill-crafted apps, irrespective of their country of origin. And these platforms certainly have a role to play in combatting concerning software coming from companies that, like Chinese companies, are beholden to unfriendly foreign powers. If policymakers require tech companies to allow their users to skirt app stores, it will become far more difficult to combat such risks.
Cybersecurity threats aren’t going away, either domestically or internationally. Policymakers would do well to take their cue from consumers’ well-informed preferences for robust protections carefully put into place by smartphone makers.
Published on July 16, 2025