No ice bucket challenge on social media could be quite as chilling to Chinese tech entrepreneurs as news from the White House. The Biden administration is backing a bi-partisan bill that could curb foreign apps. The legislation is largely aimed at TikTok, the short videos website.
The move poses a danger to the valuations of TikTok’s parent ByteDance and a slew of other Chinese tech groups.
The legislation would allow the US to take action against foreign-linked electronics or software businesses deemed to pose a threat to national security. The obvious target is the wildly popular TikTok app. US officials fear that Chinese authorities could access its troves of personal data.