On Tuesday, a group of bipartisan senators in the US introduced a bill seeking to address the concerns about using the technology of adversary nations. It applies to TikTok, which originated in China. In today’s latest BNN world news, new government processes would be established to review and curtail the threats posed by using foreign technologies.
The Commerce Department will establish the procedures to mitigate risks
According to the fact sheet, the commerce department is responsible for establishing procedures that identify, prohibit, prevent, and reduce the risks posed by using foreign technologies. The bill, aka the Restricted Act, is aimed at controlling the security threats posed by emerging technologies emanating from foreign nations in communications and information technology.
The commerce department and intelligence agencies will jointly work on providing declassified information and identifying the threats posed by restricted transactions. The RESTRICT Act is the latest in a series of bills to act on the problems that could arise when using the foreign technologies of companies from adversary nations, mainly China.
The lawmakers in the US are mainly concerned about China getting access to American users. TikTok, the video-sharing app, has already committed to maintaining the security of users’ data in the US. It also said the data of Americans will not be shared with the Chinese government.
Previous and present government efforts are slow in containing security risks
Senators Mark Warner and John Thune have introduced the RESTRICT Act. The Democrat Mark Warner works as Chairman of the SIC (Senate Intelligence Committee). According to the lawmakers, the efforts undertaken by the present and past governments to mitigate the risks posed by foreign technologies are ill-suited, slow, or disjointed given the interconnectedness and complexity of the international technology chain.
TikTok appreciates the efforts of congressmen to address security concerns
According to the lawmakers, downloads of two apps, TikTok and Temu LLC, which are owned by Chinese-based companies, have increased considerably and are now being used on American devices. In a release, TikTok said it appreciated the efforts of some congress members and their intention to explore options to address the security concerns of the US. However, it will not have any impact on the censorship of several million Americans.
The legislation introduced by Warner and John wants a systematic approach to addressing the concerns by using overseas technologies. Warner also said SIC should also consider a similar ban on US technologies by foreign nations.
According to the information gathered from the US news website, the national security adviser of the US, Jake Sullivan, said Congress should act faster in enacting the bill. It prevents the exploitation of technologies by foreign nations in collecting American users’ data. It also mitigates the threats posed to the national security and sensitive data of Americans.
Last week, the House committee led by the GOP approved a broad-based approach targeting the ban of TikTok on American-operated devices. It also proposed to address the risks posed by similar apps controlled by foreign governments. The bill gives authority to the Treasury Secretary to direct the prohibition of transactions in the US with any other entity that could send sensitive American user’s data to foreign apps controlled by countries like China.
