Eight Chinese apps have been banned from America by United States President Donald Trump, who, according to him, considers them a threat to US national security, economy and foreign policy .
The order signed on Tuesday prohibits “any transaction by any person [..] with persons who develop or control Chinese-related software applications or with their affiliates” no later than 45 days.
Trump's new executive order affects the apps Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay , and WPS Office.
The ban on the applications aims to safeguard the country's information and communications technology, as well as the service supply chain, according to Executive Order 13873, signed on May 15, 2019.
"At this time, steps must be taken to address the threat posed by these Chinese software applications," the executive order says.
"By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese software applications can access and collect vast amounts of information from users, including sensitive personal and private information."
Trump added that the ban is necessary despite the fact that many executive departments and agencies have already banned the use of the apps on Federal Government computers and mobile phones
He also pointed out that the Indian government has also banned over 200 Chinese apps for “stealing and secretly transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers in locations outside India.”.
The recent executive order follows two similar ones signed in August 2020 that prohibit any transactions with the companies behind WeChat (Tencent Holdings Ltd) and TikTok (ByteDance Ltd).
In December, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also issued warnings to American businesses about the risks of data theft behind the use of data services and equipment provided by companies linked to the People's Republic of China (PRC).
“For too long, U.S. networks and data have been exposed to cyber that use that data to give Chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage in the global marketplace,” said then-DHS Deputy Secretary Chad F. Wolf.
Source: BleepingComputer
