By Chia Fei-mao | 2026-05-19

A traffic light countdown feature on Alibaba-owned AMap has sharpened concerns in Taiwan that Chinese navigation technology could be used to harvest sensitive location data and map activity around critical infrastructure.

The feature, rolled out in Taiwan in mid-April, prompted Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs to designate AMap as a product that endangers national information security. The ministry has banned government agencies from using the app.

Taiwanese National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen told lawmakers in early May that AMap collects users' contact lists, call data and real-time audio and video feeds, transmitting the information back to servers in China. He said the collection continues even after users close the app.

"China's national security laws require Chinese companies to share corporate and user data. AMap therefore poses relatively serious cybersecurity and national security risks," Tsai said, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.

The NSB has conducted an internal review of AMap, finding cybersecurity concerns in nine of 15 assessment categories. Taiwan's National Institute of Cyber Security is carrying out a separate evaluation, with the results expected soon.

Public exposure

Although the ban on using AMap applies only to government agencies, analysts said the wider risk lies in how the app gathers real-time information from ordinary users. Through crowdsourced data, AMap could build a detailed picture of traffic flows, movement patterns and activity near sensitive sites.

In a May editorial, Taiwan's Economic Daily News warned: "Maps have never been merely navigation tools. The traffic patterns, spatial distribution data and potential strategic information they carry relate to national land governance and defense planning, making them, in effect, critical national security infrastructure."

Taiwanese national security strategy scholar Chen Wen-chia told Focus News that if ordinary users continue using AMap, they could unknowingly help hostile forces build a long-term database of movement patterns across Taiwan.

Even if military personnel, civil servants and teachers are barred from using the app, Chen said data from nearby residents, family members and contractors could expose activity around military bases, ports, radar stations and government offices.

"Modern intelligence collection no longer necessarily requires traditional espionage. Large numbers of civilian devices are enough to form a 'crowdsourced sensing network.' Taiwan's social activity patterns, transportation nodes and critical infrastructure could gradually be turned by the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] into an analyzable and predictable strategic database," Chen said.

Data controls

The case highlights a broader regulatory challenge as map data become a national security asset, say analysts.

Once AMap data are sent overseas, Taiwan will have little ability to monitor their use, demand their deletion or restrict secondary use, Yang Chang-jung, an assistant research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, wrote earlier in May.

"What AMap reveals is not a problem with a single app, but structural risks created by cross-border data flows operating under different legal systems. Taiwan should treat data as a national security issue rather than merely a personal information matter; otherwise, it will struggle to effectively respond to the long-term challenges involved," Yang wrote.

Grab scrutiny

The concerns extend beyond AMap. Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery platform Grab has announced plans to acquire the food delivery platform foodpanda's Taiwan operations, a deal under review by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission.

Reports have pointed to Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi as one of Grab's major shareholders, while several Chinese firms have previously invested in Grab and its subsidiary GrabTaxi.

Grab's mapping platform, GrabMaps, has an extensive partnership with Huawei's Petal Maps, including agreements to share mapping data. Grab has bolstered cooperation with several Chinese autonomous driving companies, including WeRide and Momenta. Alibaba Cloud is among Grab's cloud service providers.

If Grab completes the foodpanda acquisition and enters Taiwan, thousands of delivery riders could effectively become "map makers," helping the company reconstruct the rhythms of urban activity, Black Bear College, a civil defense advocacy group, said.

Such data could facilitate precision drone navigation or special operations targeting during wartime, the group said.

The Economic Daily News editorial urged Taiwan's government to review its geographic information policies and establish a cross-border data risk assessment mechanism. Taiwan could otherwise become a sieve leaking high-value spatial data as the digital economy grows, it said.