US Companies Shouldn’t Be Able to Store Data in China, Claims Senator

The fear of having their data collected and studied by their rivals among the world forces appears to be growing stronger and stronger in the US. The main concern once again seems to be China, and this time, one of the US Senators, Josh Hawley, wants to push a bill that would prevent US companies from storing sensitive user data in the rivaling country.

Senate bill would block US companies from storing data in China https://t.co/t5RuOjPUdK pic.twitter.com/JZe1atTDpC

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Senator Hawley appears to believe that China and its own companies are already collecting more data from Americans than is necessary. This is why he proposed a new measure in his National Security and Personal Data Protection Act, as he announced only hours ago.

The Act’s Impact Could Be Severe

The Act would bring a major change to the way many companies are used to operating. Firms like TikTok and Apple itself will experience a severe impact if the new changes take place. For example, Apple is currently storing the information of its Chinese users’ accounts within the Chinese data center. This practice was necessary in order for the company to comply with Chinese laws. The company is still in charge of holding the encryption keys, but Senator Hawley still sees these practices as a threat to national security. He is also greatly concerned about TikTok, as he fears that China’s intelligence agencies might pressure the company’s owner, ByteDance, into cooperation. Naturally, TikTok has denied this, but the Senator does not appear convinced.

Senator’s Concerns Regarding Data Are Not New

So far, the Senator’s office has only released a one-page summary of the proposal, but its essence is more than clear. The statement claims that China, as well as other countries that might pose a threat to America, are allegedly taking steps to pile up as much data from the US as possible. The Act aims to change that. However, it remains unclear whether the act is taking into account all the issues that doing so would cause to tech firms that are obligated by law to store a portion of their data in China. If they are unable to comply with Chinese law, they might have to leave the country completely. This is also not the first time that Hawley has proposed a change in how companies handle data. His previous suggestion was to make the data portable and use social networks to transport it. He also wanted to restrict some of the features offered by the social networks, as he believed them to be ‘addictive.’ His other concerns involved how Amazon is handling child privacy, the ban of loot boxes in the gaming industry, and more. What do you think about the Senator’s concerns? Do you think that his proposal would be a good move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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