Joe Biden drops Donald Trump orders seeking to ban TikTok, WeChat
- New executive order directs the US Commerce Department to assess the apps associated with foreign adversaries
- The agency is directed to evaluate transactions of software applications that may pose a risk for tech services to operate properly in the US
The new executive order directed the Commerce Department to assess, in the following six months, the apps associated with foreign adversaries of their potential national security implications and how American personal data is used.
The Commerce Department was asked to provide recommendations of actions needed to address the risks found at the end of the assessment. The agency was also directed to evaluate, on a continuing basis, transactions of software applications that may pose a risk for information and communication technology and services to operate properly in the US.
“That continuing effort by foreign adversaries constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Biden said in the executive order.
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Global expansion of TikTok and other Chinese tech companies is likely, only not in the West
A spokesman for TikTok declined to comment on the revocation of the order. A Tencent representative cannot be reached for comment.