US President Biden has signed a new executive order on Wednesday that is aimed at sites such as TikTok and WeChat, and sets a special criteria under which government agencies can evaluate whether there is a risk from apps that come from foreign countries, CNBC informed.
In a word, Biden replaced and revoked three executive orders signed by former President Trump which banned transactions between US companies and foreign services such as WeChat and TikTok. One of these orders was also aimed at fully banning the TikTok application. However, TikTok is still available in the United States, while court battles over the bans are still taking place.
The new order signed by Biden, directs the Department of Commerce to review applications that are related to foreign companies and assess whether there is an “unacceptable risk,” a fact sheet from the White House says.
Biden’s order would also assess a “heightened risk” transaction if and when they involve applications that are controlled, owned and managed by people who stand in support of foreign adversaries and their intelligence or military service, as well as when the app collects personal information that are very sensitive.
The order also says that the Department of Commerce will have to work with other US agencies in order to provide recommendations on how US consumer data should be protected from foreign adversaries.
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