Trump administration labels WeChat, TikTok ‘threats’ to national security, bans transactions with both
(2020/08/07)
- Reference: 1596771152
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/07/us_wechat_tiktok_national_security_threats/
- Source link:
United States president Donald Trump has issued two executive orders banning Chinese messaging service WeChat and made-in-China-but-only-operating-abroad social network TikTok, and labelling the two a “threat”.
The [1]Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok has the following to say about the app:
TikTok automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, including Internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.
The reasons advanced in the [2]Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat are as follows:
WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information. In addition, the application captures the personal and proprietary information of Chinese nationals visiting the United States, thereby allowing the Chinese Communist Party a mechanism for keeping tabs on Chinese citizens who may be enjoying the benefits of a free society for the first time in their lives.
The orders each say the United States “must take aggressive action” against each app’s owners “to protect our national security.”
That action appears to be a ban on “any transaction that is related to” either WeChat or TikTok, and the apps’ respective owners, “or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States”. It’s unclear what transactions are barred and if the intent is to stop US entities doing business with WeChat and TikTok, or preventing acquisitions, or stopping use of WeChat’s payment services.
The ban comes into force 45 days after the executive order, on September 20. Which is five days after the September 15 deadline president Trump has given Microsoft to do a [3]deal to buy some of TikTok.
Analysis
The executive orders are a willing escalation in US/China tensions and further highlight the Trump administration’s unique governing style and the way it reduces certainty.
The escalation first: China yesterday [4]slammed the US for its unfair treatment of Huawei, labelled the US a bully and said its domestic tech businesses are innocent of any allegations of espionage or working as agents of the Chinese Communist Party.
Trump bans Feds from contracting H-1B workers and makes telehealth the new normal [5]READ MORE
The USA has thrown that back in China’s face, signalling it is unafraid of strong action and reprisals. What China does next is anyone’s guess. The Middle Kingdom would rather not lose the USA as a customer for the river of manufactured goods that flow from its factories, but can damage numerous US tech firms by unraveling their Chinese presences and partnerships
Which brings us to the way the Trump administration goes about its business and works with business, because on Sunday the president was willing to assist Microsoft do a deal to buy some of TikTok’s operations. Trump did so after a personal conversation with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, an unusual way to conduct investment policy. Four days later, Trump has told the American public that TikTok is toxic and made it plain that Microsoft only has one shot at buying the social network. Which is not quite the kind of policy steadiness that the business community generally appreciates as it seeks to create jobs and enhance shareholder value.
The criticism of TikTok and WeChat as instruments of tracking and profiling are also a little odd given that the USA has never moved to stop private entities like Facebook and Amazon doing likewise. And then there’s this Tweet from the Trump re-election campaigns former head, and now boss of data, Brad Parscale.
For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star). It is firing on all cylinders. Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc.
In a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time. [6]pic.twitter.com/aJgCNfx1m0 — Brad Parscale (@parscale) [7]May 7, 2020
Yup, you read that right: Parscale says the Trump campaign has a massive data weapon that links “Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc.” Meaning that what’s good for the Trump campaign is not good for the Communist Party, a position that is at least more traditional policy because Trump plans to use his Death Star in a democratic election while China’s democracy is a thin veneer for Party control. ®
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-wechat/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/03/microsoft_confirms_tiktok_interest_after_nadella_trum_talks/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/07/china_responds_to_us_clean_network_plan/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/04/trump_tiktok_finders_fee/
[6] https://t.co/aJgCNfx1m0
[7] https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1258388669544759296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The [1]Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok has the following to say about the app:
TikTok automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, including Internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information — potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.
The reasons advanced in the [2]Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat are as follows:
WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information. In addition, the application captures the personal and proprietary information of Chinese nationals visiting the United States, thereby allowing the Chinese Communist Party a mechanism for keeping tabs on Chinese citizens who may be enjoying the benefits of a free society for the first time in their lives.
The orders each say the United States “must take aggressive action” against each app’s owners “to protect our national security.”
That action appears to be a ban on “any transaction that is related to” either WeChat or TikTok, and the apps’ respective owners, “or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States”. It’s unclear what transactions are barred and if the intent is to stop US entities doing business with WeChat and TikTok, or preventing acquisitions, or stopping use of WeChat’s payment services.
The ban comes into force 45 days after the executive order, on September 20. Which is five days after the September 15 deadline president Trump has given Microsoft to do a [3]deal to buy some of TikTok.
Analysis
The executive orders are a willing escalation in US/China tensions and further highlight the Trump administration’s unique governing style and the way it reduces certainty.
The escalation first: China yesterday [4]slammed the US for its unfair treatment of Huawei, labelled the US a bully and said its domestic tech businesses are innocent of any allegations of espionage or working as agents of the Chinese Communist Party.
Trump bans Feds from contracting H-1B workers and makes telehealth the new normal [5]READ MORE
The USA has thrown that back in China’s face, signalling it is unafraid of strong action and reprisals. What China does next is anyone’s guess. The Middle Kingdom would rather not lose the USA as a customer for the river of manufactured goods that flow from its factories, but can damage numerous US tech firms by unraveling their Chinese presences and partnerships
Which brings us to the way the Trump administration goes about its business and works with business, because on Sunday the president was willing to assist Microsoft do a deal to buy some of TikTok’s operations. Trump did so after a personal conversation with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, an unusual way to conduct investment policy. Four days later, Trump has told the American public that TikTok is toxic and made it plain that Microsoft only has one shot at buying the social network. Which is not quite the kind of policy steadiness that the business community generally appreciates as it seeks to create jobs and enhance shareholder value.
The criticism of TikTok and WeChat as instruments of tracking and profiling are also a little odd given that the USA has never moved to stop private entities like Facebook and Amazon doing likewise. And then there’s this Tweet from the Trump re-election campaigns former head, and now boss of data, Brad Parscale.
For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star). It is firing on all cylinders. Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc.
In a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time. [6]pic.twitter.com/aJgCNfx1m0 — Brad Parscale (@parscale) [7]May 7, 2020
Yup, you read that right: Parscale says the Trump campaign has a massive data weapon that links “Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc.” Meaning that what’s good for the Trump campaign is not good for the Communist Party, a position that is at least more traditional policy because Trump plans to use his Death Star in a democratic election while China’s democracy is a thin veneer for Party control. ®
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/
[2] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-wechat/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/03/microsoft_confirms_tiktok_interest_after_nadella_trum_talks/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/07/china_responds_to_us_clean_network_plan/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/04/trump_tiktok_finders_fee/
[6] https://t.co/aJgCNfx1m0
[7] https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1258388669544759296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: i have an idea for an app
Dan 55
Er, Google already does.
TikTok might go the route Epic Games did with Fortnite and provide an installer and instructions for sideloading, until they took that as far as they could and came across the barrier of non-technical users who were unable to do this and went crawling back to Google Play.
Come to think of it, Epic is backed by Tencent. Things could get interesting for Fortnite players, people who use the Epic games store, and all those games publishers which use Unreal.
sanmigueelbeer
Wait, wait, wait ... Let me guess: Trump will drop the ban on WeChat if it is sold to an American company.
UCAP
Only if Microsoft pay the huge bribe that he is demanding.
The DeathStar analogy is apt...
Shadow Systems
That would make Trump into Darth Vader & someone like Biden into Luke SkyWalker. I'll laugh my ass off if Biden flies an X-Wing up Trump's exhaust vent, blows his 'Star into so much space junk, and flies off to go do victory loops around a few battle cruisers in classic "Neener Neener Neener!"
Re: The DeathStar analogy is apt...
Dan 55
Why am I not surprised that the Trump administration likes the baddies in Star Wars? It's probably the authoritarianism and the gimp suit uniforms which do it for them.
Trump is a moron
DS999
Two 9/11s worth of people dying every week, and his response is to ban an app because kids sharing dance videos on a Chinese owned platform is a national emergency?
i have an idea for an app
why worry about Apple or Google putting you out of business by unilaterally removing your product (app) for sale from their walled gardens when the president of their country behaves exactly the same way. Nothing to see here congress...
I'm actually quite a big fan of the Apple approach that Google has mimicked in recent years. But I'll gladly lose that to avoid political interference in app development.
Time for Apple and Google to make a stand like they did against encryption backdoors and say they'll simply allow people to download and install apps from outside the app store.