Biden Administration Removes Executive Ban on TikTok and WeChat

In his push to revoke Trump’s previous laws and orders, President Joe Biden has overruled and replaced an executive order banning both TikTok and WeChat. 

TikTok and WeChat were subject to intensive scrutiny amidst claims that the Chinese government had been using them to intercept US user data. 

Former President Donald Trump classified their presence as a national security threat that wasn’t taken lightly, leading to his eventually proposed ban on the platform holistically. 

The courts blocked the WeChat ban, and now President Biden has overturned the litigation and replaced it with an investigation effort into Trump’s former claims about the threat that social media, particularly Chinese platforms, pose to the country. 

The Commerce Department will now have 120 days to monitor both WeChat and TikTok. It will then assess the situation and potential problems that foreign social media may pose to U.S national security.

If within that time frame, a problem is reported, we may see another proposed executive order in support of Trump’s former assessment. 

The order also applies to TikTok, another platform that the former administration took a particular problem with. 

Claims that TikTok was stealing user data and sending it back to the Chinese government were horrifying, though they were generally unfounded. TikTok’s U.S user data is stored on American servers, meaning that any request by the Chinese government to see it would have to go through the U.S.

However, suppose if the TikTok spyware argument is valid, it could be devastating for the U.S. An enemy government having direct access to user data and information could potentially lead to election interference and ransomware.

The move by the Biden administration gives both TikTok and WeChat the benefit of the doubt, indicating that they don’t want to burn bridges with the platforms before a legitimate infraction is implicated and confirmed.