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President Joe Biden on Wednesday canceled past executive orders seeking to ban Chinese social networks TikTok and WeChat in the country introduced by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and instead urged opening an investigation to identify security risks linked to China.
The new order directs the Commerce Department to initiate a “rigorous, evidence-based” analysis of apps that collect personal information from users and whose technology has ties to the Asian giant.
In 2017, China passed the National Security Law, according to which any organization or citizen of the country was obliged to “support, assist and cooperate with state intelligence work.” Given that situation, the Trump Administration interpreted that Chinese companies must cooperate with the Chinese regime, and repeatedly accused TikTok of handing over personal data of American citizens.
At the end of 2019, the U.S. Department of Defense banned soldiers, marines and military personnel from using the app on their work phones because it was considered a cyber threat.
TikTok was on the verge of being sold last year to Oracle following pressure from Trump, however, Biden’s arrival at the White House has given the Chinese social network a breathing space to establish itself in the United States.
