Biden presses pause on Trump's WeChat and TikTok bans

TikTok was facing a ban in the U.S. under the Trump administration, but that may no longer happen.

What you need to know

Oracle agreed to purchase the social media app, TikTok, last year.
Oracle teamed up with Walmart to purchase TikTok's U.S. operations after an ultimatum by the Trump administration ordered the company to sell or be banned.
The sale has now been indefinitely postponed as the new administration takes a closer look at the security risks posed by Chinese software.
Update, February 11 (06:35 pm ET): The Biden Administration has asked for a pause on ban proceedings regarding WeChat

TikTok's impending purchase by Oracle has been put on indefinite hold after the Biden administration launched a review into security risks from Chinese apps and software targeted by the previous administration, The Wall Street Journal reported

The app had come under scrutiny by the Trump administration towards the end of the year over vague security risks. Owner Bytedance was ordered to sell off TikTok's U.S. operations to a U.S. company or face a ban. Even after Oracle beat out prolific suitors including Microsoft to strike a deal, enforcing the ban was tricky as TikTok filed successful legal challenge after legal challenge. With the Trump administration later losing interest in enforcing its own ban following the November 2020 presidential elections, the new administration throws an additional spanner in the works.

National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne told the Wall Street Journal in a statement:

We plan to develop a comprehensive approach to securing U.S. data that addresses the full range of threats we face. This includes the risk posed by Chinese apps and other software that operate in the U.S. In the coming months, we expect to review specific cases in light of a comprehensive understanding of the risks we face.

Alongside Huawei and WeChat, TikTok was one of the Chinese firms targeted by the Trump administration over security concerns. To be clear, while TikTok did have some security issues, and it has been banned by non-U.S. governments in the past, it has never been a demonstrable national security risk. The broad consensus in 2020 was that TikTok was not a security threat, and though the company had taken steps to Americanize itself — those were not enough to insulate itself from allegations of being a tool of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

Update, February 11 (06:35 pm ET) — Biden has also asked for a pause on the WeChat ban

Biden has now asked for a hold on the WeChat ban (via ABC News). In a court filing this week, the administration said that it would halt the enforcement of the ban while it looked into the underlying logic behind it.

Source: androidcentral

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course

Tech Talk

Search This Blog