Biden Issues Executive Order Regarding Chinese Apps

Akin Gump published a client alert on President Biden signing an executive order (EO) on June 9 which revoked a series of Trump-era EOs targeting specific Chinese “connected software applications” (“apps”), including TikTok and WeChat. The EO calls for a “rigorous, evidence-based analysis” of potential risks posed by apps designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by China and other “foreign adversaries” and identifies the Information and Communication Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain EO and its implementing regulations (15 C.F.R. Part 7) as the primary tool for addressing the national security risks posed by such apps and other ICTS products and services. The EO establishes app-specific factors that should be evaluated as part of the Department of Commerce’s review under the ICTS Supply Chain regulations to determine whether certain apps present national security concerns. This action, along with the redesign of the Chinese investment sanctions program, demonstrates that the Biden-Harris administration acknowledges many of the same national security risks identified by the prior administration, but is opting to address those risks through a fact-based regulatory assessment of specific cases based on a defined criteria. To read the full alert, please click here.