Banning WeChat in Australia risks causing “emotional, psychological and practical harm” to the country’s large Chinese-speaking community, experts have told a Senate inquiry.

Australia has become the last of the Five Eyes nations to ban viral video-app TikTok from government devices, and a tighter clampdown on social media, particularly those with Chinese ownership, is expected in the coming months. WeChat, owned by Chinese technology titan Tencent, is believed to have about 1 million users in Australia, with 1.3 billion users worldwide.