President Biden is revoking the executive orders from the Trump administration that tried to ban TikTok and WeChat in the US.
Instead, Biden is calling for his own review into the risks of foreign-controlled mobile apps transferring data to US adversaries. This could include signing future executive orders to safeguard US personal data from falling into the wrong hands.
Biden made the decision on Wednesday in his own executive order, which stresses the need to protect Americans' personal data from foreign threats.
The order doesn’t explain why Biden is rescinding Trump’s earlier attempt to ban TikTok and WeChat, two apps created by Chinese companies. But it’s been no secret the effort ended up stalling in the courts amid concerns Trump’s executive orders violated free speech rights. In the meantime, both TikTok and WeChat remained online in the US.
That said, the order from Biden notes the federal government should evaluate security threats “through rigorous, evidence-based analysis,” while preserving and demonstrating “America’s core values and fundamental freedoms.”
In contrast, the Trump administration declared that both TikTok and WeChat represented national security threats. The main concern is that the Chinese government will secretly compel the apps to hand over data on millions of Americans for cyberespionage purposes. However, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance had called the fears unfounded, with no evidence to back them up.
Biden’s review is calling on the heads of various federal agencies to supply recommendations on the potential threat within the next four and six months.
Despite revoking the earlier orders, Biden is leaving intact Trump’s 2019 executive order that empowers the government to restrict technology sales that pose an “unacceptable risk” to the US’s national security. The 2019 order arrived as the Trump administration began crippling Chinese company Huawei’s access to the US supply chain.
Like Trump, Biden is calling on his Commerce Secretary to use the authority to stop any commercial transactions that could undermine the US.