WeChat has millions of users in the United States. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab have said that the number of users affected by cross-border censorship is huge and that WeChat, Tencent’s instant messaging service, collects data from overseas to train Chinese censorship algorithms.
On Thursday (Feb. 11), the Biden administration asked a federal appeals court to put on hold the Trump administration’s attempt to ban WeChat from the appeals process. This comes shortly after the Biden Administration also asked another federal court to delay the TikTok ban appeal case.
The Biden administration said it needed Time to review the Trump Administration‘s proposed ban.
On the other hand, congressional Republicans have expressed concern about the Biden administration’s stance on the Chinese Communist Party. Many Republican House and Senate members have urged the Biden administration to continue the Trump administration’s tough policy on China, and in particular to maintain a tough stance on Chinese technology companies controlled by the Communist Party.
“With the inauguration of the Biden administration, the Department of Commerce has begun reviewing recently issued Department actions, including the (former) Secretary’s ban on the WeChat mobile App in question in this appeal,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a filing to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday.
“With respect to these bans, the Commerce Department plans to evaluate the underlying record supporting the bans. The current administration will better determine whether the national security threats described in President (Trump’s) August 6, 2020 Executive Order, and the regulatory purpose of protecting Americans and the security of their data, can still continue to ensure that the bans (are upheld).” The Justice Department said.
The document adds that the Biden administration “remains committed to robustly defending national security and ensuring the viability of our economy and preserving individual rights and data privacy.”
Similar language was used in a request filed Wednesday by the Biden administration with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to delay Trump’s proposed ban on the TikTok proceedings.
Former President Trump issued an executive order last fall banning WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores, calling the two Chinese apps a national security threat to the United States because they allegedly collect “massive amounts of data” on Americans and provide a way for China’s Communist Party to censor or publish false information.
A federal district judge in San Francisco temporarily suspended the WeChat ban in September 2020, and a federal court in Washington, D.C., also issued an order temporarily suspending the TikTok ban. The Trump administration’s Department of Commerce is appealing both decisions.
WeChat has millions of users in the United States. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab have said that the number of users affected by cross-border censorship is huge, and that WeChat (Tencent’s instant messaging service) collects data from overseas to train Chinese censorship algorithms; if the U.S. has stronger data protection laws, Tencent may have to If there were stronger data protection laws in the United States, Tencent might have to disclose such surveillance to its users.
“Ron Deibert, director of Citizen Lab, told China Daily, “People overseas may mistakenly believe that what we call the ‘one app, two systems’ approach is somehow immune to Chinese [Communist Party] information. to some extent unaffected by China’s (CCP) information control.” Mr. Dilbert was referring to the Communist Party’s “one country, two systems” framework for Hong Kong, which gives Hong Kong residents civil liberties not seen on the mainland, but in which many have lost confidence.
Some Republican senators have expressed concern about the Biden administration’s stance on the Chinese Communist Party. Republican Sen. Rick Scott tweeted Thursday in response to Biden’s first call with Xi Jinping: “@POTUS’ (President Biden) weak measures against Communist China will not help protect our national security or hold them (the Chinese Communist Party) accountable for genocide. Instead of relatable and pleasant calls, we need strong and aggressive action to confront the Chinese (CCP) threat.”
Last week, senior Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed reservations about Biden’s Commerce Department nomination of Gina Raimondo, after Raimondo declined to say during a Senate hearing whether to blacklist huawei from the economy.
Cruz on Feb. 4 tweeted, “I will lift the hold when the Biden Administration promises to keep Huawei, which (helped) the Chinese Communist Party (conduct) a massive spying operation, on the list of (Commerce Department) entities.”
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