TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Donal Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday (Jan. 5) banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay.
The order released by the White House bars Americans from using Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office, Reuters reported. The order takes effect in 45 days and instructs Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to investigate other Chinese apps that could pose a national security risk.
It also calls on the commerce secretary, the attorney general, and the director of national intelligence to issue a report with suggestions to prevent the transfer of American users’ private data to foreign adversaries, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information,” the order says. It continues by saying this collection “would permit China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, and build dossiers of personal information.”
The order could further increase tensions between Washington and Beijing as they have been engaged in multiple disputes including the ongoing trade war, the origin of the coronavirus, arms sales to Taiwan, and Hong Kong’s draconian national security law.
Despite the 45-day countdown mentioned in the order, the Commerce Department plans to identify prohibited transactions before Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, a U.S. official told Reuters. Ross said in a statement that he supports Trump’s “commitment to protecting the privacy and security of Americans from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Trump’s executive order is the latest in a string of restrictions placed on Chinese companies. In November, Trump issued another order banning U.S. investment in Chinese firms with alleged links to the People’s Liberation Army, while in December, the Commerce Department added dozens of Chinese companies to its Entity List.
