BREAKINGVIEWS US blacklisting is no match for TikTok virality
TikTok app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. Purchase Licensing Rights
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - (This March 3 story has been corrected to say that only one unit of BGI Genomics was added to the list and the Commerce department added a total of three BGI Group units, in paragraph 2)
The United States’ web of trade restrictions has a TikTok-sized hole in it. The Commerce Department added another 28 Chinese firms to its trade blacklist on Thursday, requiring licenses to acquire U.S. wares. Yet social media app TikTok, which government officials have repeatedly voiced national security concerns over, hasn’t been hit with trade curbs. It might be time to classify Americans’ data as a domestic good.
After Thursday’s addition, which included a unit of genetics company BGI Genomics Co Ltd (300676.SZ) and two other units of its parent, BGI Group, the U.S. blacklist includes more than 1,100 China-based entities. TikTok parent ByteDance is based in China and has eluded that list, largely because the Commerce Department’s tools affect hard goods, not software.
Meanwhile, negotiations between U.S. regulators and TikTok over a security deal have dragged on for years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency have warned the Chinese government could use the app to track user data and manipulate content.
Expanding the blacklist to cover software could provide some extra security while talks continue. It would be a stopgap measure, but some protection is better than none. (By Ben Winck)
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Editing by Jennifer Saba and Sharon Lam
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