The outspoken liberal senator has penned a letter to the CEO of WeChat, threatening dire consequences if the company refuses to appear before the Senate select committee on foreign interference through social media.

Senator James Paterson shared on Twitter the letter he sent to Elizabeth Byun on July 4, along with the information that the company had been invited to appear on multiple occasions.

“ WeChat is now the only Social media platform that has declined to appear before the committee”, Paterson wrote

He said @WeChatApp & its parent company @TencentGlobal had been repeatedly invited to appear before the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference Through Social Media, & repeatedly declined. Their refusal to engage with the parliament reflects very poorly.

Paterson warned the company in the letter that the committee "has heard disturbing allegations that WeChat has been used to intimidate and harass Chinese-Australian human rights activists" and that the app is a "narrative machine" for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

WeChat declined Senator Paterson's invitation in a letter, saying "WeChat does not have local operations or employees in Australia, so regretfully we are unable to attend the hearing today (July 11)".

On August 1, the Senator Paterson-led committee will present its findings. Google, TikTok, Twitter, Meta, and LinkedIn will present to the committee during its final hearings.

Many Australian government departments have banned WeChat in addition to TikTok.

Many Chinese-Australians use WeChat to communicate with family and friends in China. 690,000 Australians used the app in 2020.

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