WASHINGTON: The Biden administration, this week, outlined efforts to address growing United States national security concerns on foreign companies’ handling of Americans’ data.
At a United States Senate hearing, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the department is working “to secure our communications and technology networks, and we are right now hiring a team to do monitoring, investigation and enforcement”.
Raimondo told Reuters after the hearing, “We are hiring dozens of people” to “look for any companies that may pose an undue security risk to our networks or our data.”
Concerns about China-owned TikTok
Concerns about Chinese-owned TikTok sparked new efforts in Congress to boost powers to address it or potentially restrict the popular short-video sharing app.
According to Republican Senator Jerry Moran, Biden administration agencies briefed senators in a previously unreported closed session on “Foreign adversaries’ exploitation of United States data from social media platforms, data brokers and other companies”.
The department said, Under Commerce Secretary for Industry and Security, Alan Estevez was among those addressing information and communications technology supply chain threats. Aides said that around 20 senators attended the briefing organized by the Commerce Committee.
Last month, Senators John Thune, and Mark Warner, joined by 24 other senators, proposed the Restrict Act to grant the Commerce Department new authority to review or block the range of transactions involving foreign that pose national security risks.
“I think it is the top priority, and we need to move with urgency,” United States Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that at a Senate hearing of the legislative effort. “It’s more than one company, and it is a constant, pervasive threat; we need the constant tools properly funded with expertise.”
The White House and Raimondo support the Restrict Act. The critics said the bill is overbroad and hurts the civil liberties of Americans, including the more than 150 million United States TikTok users. TikTok denies it improperly uses United States data. Raimondo said that the department has been active in addressing threats from China.
She said, “I have put over 200 Chinese companies on the entity list in my tenure, and we are actively, constantly investigating additional serious threats, and if and as we think companies need to go onto the list, I’ll not hesitate,”
Days before then-ex-President Donald Trump left office in 2021, the Commerce Department issued aimed at addressing ICTS concerns posed by China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
