exposure! US media: The US government asked WhatsApp to track the information of 7 Chinese users

Source: World Wide Web

The U.S. government ordered the country's company to track down the information of 7 Chinese users, which was exposed by the US media.

The US "Forbes" magazine website said on the 17th local time that a just declassified US government surveillance application showed that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) asked WhatsApp, an instant messaging app owned by Facebook, to track 7 users in Chinese mainland and Macau in November last year. The application message showed that the DEA was not clear about the identity of the target user, but told WhatsApp to monitor the IP addresses and numbers that contacted them, when and how they used the app.

According to reports, this monitoring uses a technique called the Pen Register and is done according to the Pen Register Act. Forbes has previously reported that for at least the past two years, U.S. law enforcement has repeatedly ordered WhatsApp and other tech companies to install pen recorders without showing any justification.

The latest case shows that unexplained Snooping in the United States has spread across the globe, far beyond whatsApp users in the United States and users in neighboring countries, involving foreign targets whose identities the government does not know. According to another court filing obtained by Forbes, seven other WhatsApp users were also targeted in a previous Ohio case, including 3 in the United States and 4 in Mexico.

And why is the U.S. government spying on these Chinese users? The media outlet found signs that the DEA was seeking to monitor individuals and entities suspected of delivering opioids through the web and crypto apps. While the DEA may be legally using the "pen recorder method" to track down Chinese chemical suppliers fueling the U.S. opioid crisis, there are concerns about the lack of explanation for "just causes."

In response to relevant issues, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded that the Chinese government has always adhered to a "zero tolerance" attitude towards the drug problem and strictly controlled all kinds of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their chemical precursors. We urge the US side to respect the facts, find out more from itself the causes of fentanyl abuse, and objectively and fairly evaluate China's efforts, rather than passing on contradictions and blaming other countries.

In fact, the United States, which has always regarded itself as a "cybersecurity guard", has repeatedly fallen into the "eavesdropping storm". In 2013, Snowden, a former U.S. defense contractor employee, exposed through the media that the U.S. government was widely monitoring domestic and foreign telephone and Internet communications, causing an international uproar. Since then, the WikiLeaks website has revealed in 2015 that the US National Security Agency has monitored the three French presidents, Chirac, Sarkozy and Hollande, and obtained some important information about their governance. In recent years, the true face of the United States, the "eavesdropping empire," has been further exposed. In August 2020, Danish media reported that the U.S. National Security Agency, through the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency, had free access to raw data on the Internet, including private information about Danish citizens. In November, Danish media reported that the United States had spied on the Danish government, its defense industry, and other European defense contractors to obtain information on the country's warplane procurement programs. In May last year, the Danish media again broke the news that the NSA used its partnership with Danish intelligence to spy on European allied leaders and senior officials, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Ding Jieyun)

(Source: World Wide Web)