Earlier this month, President Biden issued two executive orders designed to address risks allegedly posed by Chinese technology companies. One order rescinds President Trump's orders banning TikTok, WeChat, and other Chinese...more
The U.S. government's efforts to secure sensitive personal data against foreign adversaries, primarily with an eye toward China, continue. On June 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Protecting...more
On June 9, 2021, the Biden Administration issued an executive order (EO) entitled “Executive Order on Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries.” This EO revoked three prior Trump Administration EOs aimed...more
On June 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order (“EO”) revoking Trump’s orders on TikTok and WeChat. In their stead, President Biden’s EO subjects software applications controlled or owned by “foreign adversaries”...more
On January 5, 2021, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with eight “connected software applications” developed or controlled by Chinese companies. The...more
On January 5, 2021, President Trump signed another executive order (EO) to address the threat to U.S. national security posed by access to personal data by the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. This...more
U.S. Judge Halts Trump's TikTok Ban, Hours Before It was Set to Start - "John Hall, an attorney for TikTok, said that the app, with some 100 million American users, is a 'modern day version of the town square' and shutting...more
Just as quickly as the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the parameters of prohibitions on transactions involving TikTok and WeChat, pursuant to Executive Orders 13942 and 13943, respectively, actions were taken to delay...more
A federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted TikTok’s motion for preliminary injunction, resulting in a nationwide temporary suspension of an order from the U.S. Department of Commerce...more
The US Commerce Department releases scope of bans on Tiktok and WeChat - This past August, our China Team reported on President Trump's Executive Order 13942, which placed restrictions on any transactions with two of the most...more
Sunday, September 20, 2020, was intended to be the day on which prohibitions would go into effect on ByteDance Ltd. (ByteDance) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (Tencent) and their subsidiaries—makers of the TikTok and WeChat apps,...more
On Saturday, two actions put a stop, at least temporarily, to the U.S. shutdown of the popular social media apps WeChat and TikTok. WeChat - On September 19, 2020, a California Federal Magistrate Judge issued a...more
On September 19, 2020, China took a new strategic position in its ongoing trade confrontation with the United States. The Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (“MOFCOM”) issued Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“UEL”) and...more
On September 19, 2020 (September 18, 2020 U.S. EDT), China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published the Provisions on the Unreliable Entity List (UEL Provisions), which took effect on the same date. On May 31, 2019,...more
China-based smartphone apps, TikTok and WeChat, have each received a reprieve from the respective bans, which were originally ordered by President Trump on August 6, 2020 against both parties and were scheduled to take effect...more
This past weekend saw a halt to the anticipated September 20 implementation of broad prohibitions published on September 18 by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) regarding TikTok and WeChat mobile applications. No...more
On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued two orders identifying the specific transactions related to the WeChat and TikTok mobile applications ("Orders") that are prohibited pursuant to Executive Orders...more
To implement President Trump’s August 6, 2020 Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat and Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok, Friday, September 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce...more
On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department published two rules defining the scope of prohibited transactions related to the mobile applications, WeChat and TikTok. The scope of prohibited transactions clarified the...more
As the countdown continues to September 20, our International Trade & Regulatory Group examines the ambiguities underlying the unprecedented Executive Orders purporting to ban the use of TikTok and WeChat, questions that may...more
A New Lawsuit Against Trump’s Section 230 Executive Order Argues It Chills Speech about Voting - "The suit accuses the president of using the order to retaliate against Twitter, infringing on the public's right to receive...more
Pillsbury’s International Trade team is tracking developing U.S. government measures with widespread implications for the tech, telecom and government contracting industries. The Trump administration has long focused on...more
In late July, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) released its Annual Report for 2019, providing insight into recent CFIUS trends. This included encouraging results on CFIUS outcomes for...more