Nikkei Asian Review Quotes Kevin Wolf on National Security Concerns Raised by Chinese Stakes in U.S. Technology Companies

Nikkei Asian Review has quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Kevin Wolf in the article “Bowing to US pressure, Chinese owner sells gay dating app Grindr.” The article reports on a move by President Trump to force the Chinese owner of the Grindr website to sell the company amid concerns over national security.

Shortly after the announcement, the article says, Mr. Trump ordered another Chinese company to divest all of its interests in a Maryland-based software company that provides management systems to hotels. Chinese law, the article notes, requires companies to provide access, cooperation, or support for Beijing’s intelligence-gathering activities—a rule that has led Washington to distrust various entities from China.

Wolf said he expects more cases this year blocking Chinese deals involving tech companies that have a large reservoir of sensitive personal data, as new CFIUS rules broadening the scope of national security risks took effect earlier this year. Concerns over such transactions, he noted, are “not really unique to the Trump administration.”

“CFIUS in my day had similar concerns regarding acquisitions of companies with large amounts of sensitive personal data,” said Wolf, a former Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. “The only difference now is that standard is much more articulated as a statute as opposed to just a policy that CFIUS had in terms of analyzing national security implications.” Access to U.S. citizens’ personal data by a foreign adversary, a category China falls under, is seen by CFIUS as facilitating espionage, he added.