Joe Biden has issued an executive order that will invalidate the Trump administration’s efforts to ban TikTok, WeChat, and eight more communications and financial technology apps linked to China.
According to CNN, Biden’s new order requests the Commerce Department to conduct a broad review of the applications, with the secretary of commerce, director of national intelligence, and other agencies to evaluate possible security risks for Americans and the U.S. The order covers applications that are “owned, controlled, or managed by persons that support foreign adversary military or intelligence activities, or are involved in malicious cyber activities, or involve applications that collect sensitive personal data.”
It appears that Biden has similar national security concerns as Trump did, in terms of Chinese-made mobile apps. Biden, however, isn’t directing his executive order at particular companies.
“The Biden Administration is committed to promoting an open, interoperable, reliable and secure Internet; protecting human rights online and offline; and supporting a vibrant, global digital economy,” the White House said in a statement. “Certain countries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), do not share these values and seek to leverage digital technologies and Americans’ data in ways that present unacceptable national security risks while advancing authoritarian controls and interests.”
Trump used an executive order in an attempt to prohibit U.S. companies from working with TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and demanded that ByteDance divest and sell TikTok to U.S. investors. Additionally, Trump tried to ban the app from U.S. app stores. His executive orders went nowhere and were ultimately challenged in court.
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