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President Biden on Wednesday rescinded executive orders targeting China-owned apps TikTok and WeChat signed by former President Donald Trump, and signed a new order requiring security reviews of these and other apps in the jurisdiction of foreign adversaries.
The new order directs the Commerce Department to evaluate software applications associated with foreign adversaries under recent US supply chain security rules and “take action, as appropriate,” according to the fact sheet.
The Commerce Department will be required to review applications “that include software applications designed, developed, manufactured or provided by persons owned, controlled, or subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary, including the People’s Republic of China, that may present an undue or unacceptable risk On the national security of the United States and the American people, according to the White House Fact Sheet.
The application also provides criteria for identifying and evaluating applications that may pose an unacceptable risk to US national security and the data security of Americans.
This includes applications that “may present an increased risk when transactions involve applications owned, controlled or operated by persons supporting foreign enemy military or intelligence activities, engaging in malicious cyber activities, or involving applications that collect sensitive personal data.”
Trump administration executive orders targeting ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok app have been banned. Beijing-based and WeChat app owned by Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings Ltd by court orders from the Federal Court. In the case of TikTok, Mr. Trump sought to force the sale of the company to its owners in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the Biden administration had suspended the Trump administration’s plan to force the sale of TikTok amid ongoing legal challenges.
At the time, the Biden administration said it was developing a comprehensive approach to data security protection, and was reviewing previous administration actions to determine whether the national security threat cited by Mr.
The Chinese-owned app TikTok has been categorized as a national security threat by the United States, but it is not unique in the data it collects. The Wall Street Journal explains why states are building digital walls and treating user data as a sovereign asset, and how that could change our technology. Illustration: Zoe Soriano
Administration officials said TikTok continues to be subject to a separate review by a government panel that reviews cross-border transactions.
The action is the latest sign of the Biden administration’s policy toward an emerging China, which represents a tougher approach that acknowledges Beijing’s economic and geopolitical power.
Last week, the president expanded a Trump-era ban on Americans to invest in Chinese companies with alleged links to the Chinese military. Many of the newly targeted companies are subsidiaries and subsidiaries of major state-owned companies and other companies previously blacklisted.
In March, the United States joined its allies in imposing sanctions on Chinese officials implicated in the mass detention of Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Mr. Biden departed on Wednesday for his first foreign trip as president, and will meet with European and NATO leaders as well as a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Officials said part of his goal would be to rally allies to confront Beijing.
The United States is also working on supply chain issues aimed at reducing dependence on China.
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TikTok and WeChat representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The executive order authorizes the Department of Commerce to begin screening foreign applications immediately.
Senior Biden administration officials said the president’s new executive order is designed to replace the Trump administration’s partial company-by-company approach with a more comprehensive review of risks posed by many applications associated with potentially hostile countries.
The Biden administration hopes the new order will put the effort on a stronger legal footing, even if it means the orders are somewhat less punitive.
For example, the Trump administration’s original order affecting TikTok and its owner ByteDance “banned any transaction by any person, or in connection with any property, under the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd.”
The new order also seeks recommendations on further tightening the United States’ approach to protecting sensitive data such as genetic information.
But the Biden administration’s approach still faces difficult challenges in addressing the complex problems raised by the global Internet.
Notably, the Biden administration plans to seek more involvement from other friendly countries in its efforts to monitor the data practices of potentially unfriendly apps.
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More Wall Street Journal coverage of Trump’s ban on TikTok, picked by the editors.
Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected] and Alex Leary at [email protected]
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