By John D. McKinnon and Alex Leary
WASHINGTON -- President Biden revoked a Trump-era attempt to ban
Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat, substituting Wednesday an
executive order mandating a broad review of apps controlled by
foreign adversaries to determine whether they pose a security
threat to the U.S.
The new order doesn't target any companies specifically, but
creates the potential for an even broader crackdown on
Chinese-owned apps than the Trump administration orders it replaces
by mandating a review of all software applications with potential
ties to countries such as China.
The Commerce Department was authorized to begin that review
immediately, the White House said.
The executive order is designed to replace the Trump
administration's approach targeting individual companies with a
broader process for reviewing risks posed by apps that are
connected to potentially hostile countries, according to senior
Biden administration officials.
The officials say they remain concerned about security risks
from Chinese and certain other foreign-owned apps, but that the
executive orders signed by former President Donald Trump were
effectively unenforceable.
Federal court rulings had blocked Mr. Trump's orders from ever
taking effect. In the case of TikTok, he had sought to shut down
the app in the U.S. if the company wasn't put under control of U.S.
owners.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) framed Mr. Biden's action as a
retreat, however, tweeting on Wednesday: "This is a major mistake
-- shows alarming complacency regarding #China's access to
Americans' personal information, as well as #China's growing
corporate influence."
But others viewed it as a positive step.
"This is important because it signals an alignment of concern
across two administrations on these issues, but also because the
new administration is clearly moving from a review phase to more of
an action phase," said Eric Sayers, a U.S.-China tech expert at the
American Enterprise Institute.
TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., declined to
comment. The popular video-sharing app has an estimated 100 million
users in the U.S.
WeChat, a multipurpose app popular in China that is owned by
tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., didn't respond to a request for
comment.
China's U.S. embassy spokesman, Liu Pengyu, said in a statement
that China "opposes the U.S. abusing its national power under the
pretext of national security to suppress and coerce non-American
companies."
"We urge the U.S. government to provide an open, fair, just and
nondiscriminatory business environment for foreign companies," the
statement said.
Wednesday's executive order requires the Commerce Department to
review apps developed or owned by people or companies "subject to
the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary, including the People's
Republic of China," according to a White House fact sheet.
The review would include apps that could be used to support
military or intelligence activities by other countries, or could be
used to collect sensitive personal data, the White House said.
U.S. officials have maintained that TikTok, WeChat and other
Chinese-owned apps collect data that could be shared with China's
authoritarian government. Those companies have disputed that
contention.
The Biden executive order also revokes a Trump-era ban affecting
the Alipay payment platform, which is owned by Chinese billionaire
Jack Ma's Ant Group Co., and apps owned by Shenzhen-based Tencent
-- WeChat Pay, QQWallet and Tencent QQ.
Ant Group declined to comment.
In addition, the Trump order applied to Camscanner, a scanning
app owned by INTSIG Information Co. in Shanghai, as well as
Chinese-connected apps known as SHAREit, Vmate and WPS Office.
The WeChat app, in particular, is widely used by U.S. companies
that do business in China. The U.S.-China Business Council, which
represents many of those companies, said it didn't have enough
information about the new executive order to comment on the
security provisions.
But the group did say the White House should work to establish
global agreements on data flows and privacy.
"Without international agreements, there's a real danger that
individual country data flows and privacy protection policies will
throttle innovation, cripple the Internet of things, and adversely
affect future US and global economic growth," the group said in a
statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the Biden
administration had shelved the Trump administration's plan to force
a sale of TikTok amid ongoing legal challenges.
At the time, the Biden administration said it was developing a
comprehensive approach to protecting data security, and was
reviewing the previous administration's action to determine whether
the national security threat cited by Mr. Trump continued to
warrant an outright ban.
In April, ByteDance named Shou Zi Chew as TikTok's new chief
executive, replacing former YouTube executive Vanessa Papps, who
became TikTok's interim head in 2020 after the abrupt resignation
of former Walt Disney Co. executive Kevin Mayer. Executives at
TikTok said they interpreted the ascension of Mr. Chew, who is
based in Singapore, as an indication that TikTok no longer viewed
its relationship with the U.S. as its greatest risk.
U.S. administration officials said Wednesday that TikTok
continues to undergo a separate review by a government panel that
reviews cross-border transactions.
James Lewis, a China tech expert at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, said if the panel review doesn't produce a
settlement, "TikTok should expect to be back on the chopping
block," facing the same pressures in a Commerce Department review
as it did during the Trump administration.
The new order also seeks recommendations on further toughening
of the U.S. approach to protect sensitive data such as genetic
information. Administration officials say they also plan to seek
more involvement of other friendly countries in its efforts to
police data practices of apps based in potentially unfriendly
countries.
The action is the latest sign of the Biden administration's
emerging China policy, which represents a tougher approach
acknowledging Beijing's economic and geopolitical strength.
In March, the U.S. joined allies in imposing sanctions against
Chinese officials engaged in the mass incarceration of mainly
Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region.
Last week, the president expanded a Trump-era prohibition on
Americans investing in Chinese companies with purported links to
China's military. Many of the newly targeted companies are
subsidiaries and affiliates of major state-owned companies and
other businesses named on the earlier blacklist.
The U.S. also is working on supply-chain issues intended to
lessen the dependence on China, and on Tuesday the Senate approved
a $250 billion bill boosting government spending on technology
research and development amid rising competition from China and
other nations.
Mr. Biden departed Wednesday for his first overseas trip as
president and will meet with European and NATO leaders as well as a
summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Part of his aim,
officials said, will be to rally allies into taking on Beijing.
Georgia Wells contributed to this article.
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com and Alex
Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 09, 2021 17:12 ET (21:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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