Rules banning computers and cellphones issued by central and local government agencies from using Chinese social media Web sites and software are to be announced by the Executive Yuan before the end of the month, a source said.
Arrangements are also in place to announce guidelines for government agencies nationwide on purchasing and handling products purchased from Chinese-invested companies, the source said.
The guidelines would define what agencies should look out for when procuring telecommunications products made by Chinese-invested companies, as well as exceptions, they said.
They would also clearly define regulations stipulating that civil servants must not download or install any software that is not related to work on their work cellphones, they added.
Chinese social media to be banned include Tencent Weibo, Renren, Sina Weibo, Renren Network and WeChat, the source said.
Chinese search engine Baidu and Chinese photograph retouching apps would not be allowed on work cellphones and computers, they said.
The long-deliberated bans aim to prevent information security breaches from affecting national security, as well as to offer clearly defined regulations for all government agencies, they added.
The prohibitions are to be implemented in two steps, with the Executive Yuan announcing an administrative order by the end of this month and a complete list of banned software, services and Web sites to be finalized and announced in March, the source said.
The Executive Yuan declined to comment on how each agency would react or carry out such an order, saying only that final-stage talks were ongoing, they said.
Taobao and other Chinese online shopping platforms would not be included in the new bans, as they were already banned from work cellphones and computers used by civil servants, they added.
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