The White House and a bipartisan group of 12 senators approved the Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act on Tuesday.
The act gives the U.S. government the power to potentially ban foreign producers of electronic devices or software deemed a national security risk by the Department of Commerce and its current head, Gina Raimond. The purpose is that.
In a statement issued by the White House, President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, “We look forward to continuing to work with both Democrats and Republicans on this bill, and we look forward to working with Congress as soon as possible.” I urge you to take action and send it to the President’s desk.
Technically speaking, the RESTRICT Act is less prescriptive than other bills that have proposed outright bans on certain social media companies from trading or banning the nationwide use of TikTok.
Instead, the new law will serve as a general framework for allowing the U.S. government to independently screen foreign technology entering the United States.
Sullivan said, “Rather than whack-a-mole with Huawei one day, ZTE the next, Kaspersky the next, and TikTok, assess and mitigate the threat posed by these foreign technologies from these adversaries. We need a more comprehensive approach to
According to Tanium vice president Matthew Marsden, the RESTRICT law could effectively limit data collection, especially from companies based in China.
“The restrictions on the use of Chinese surveillance technology have raised concerns in the West in recent months,” Marsden said. “There are also numerous reports of China’s efforts to sway politicians through lobbying and donations, as well as attempts to sway the public through social media and the spread of disinformation.”
Case in point, the push for the RESTRICT Act came just days after the White House gave federal agencies a final deadline to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices.
The United States is not the only country to follow this course of action. More information on the recent government ban on TikTok is available in this recent analysis. Information security Associate Editor, James Coker.
