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Tag: Mark R. Warner

  • Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill Taking Aim at TikTok & Foreign Tech

    Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill Taking Aim at TikTok & Foreign Tech

    A bipartisan bill has been introduced to the Senate, one that would take a comprehensive approach to foreign tech.

    Concerns have been growing about TikTok and the threat it poses to privacy and security. In addition to TikTok, US officials remain concerned about Huawei, ZTE, and a host of other companies that could pose a threat to national security.

    Senators Mark R. Warner and John Thune led a bipartisan group of 12 senators in introducing the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act.

    “Today, the threat that everyone is talking about is TikTok, and how it could enable surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party, or facilitate the spread of malign influence campaigns in the U.S. Before TikTok, however, it was Huawei and ZTE, which threatened our nation’s telecommunications networks. And before that, it was Russia’s Kaspersky Lab, which threatened the security of government and corporate devices,” said Sen. Warner. “We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America, so we aren’t playing Whac-A-Mole and scrambling to catch up once they’re already ubiquitous.”

    “Congress needs to stop taking a piecemeal approach when it comes to technology from adversarial nations that pose national security risks,” said Sen. Thune. “Our country needs a process in place to address these risks, which is why I’m pleased to work with Senator Warner to establish a holistic, methodical approach to address the threats posed by technology platforms – like TikTok – from foreign adversaries. This bipartisan legislation would take a necessary step to ensure consumers’ information and our communications technology infrastructure is secure.”

    The new legislation would give the Secretary of Commerce the authority to crack down on any information or communications tech developed by a foreign company “in which any foreign adversary has any interest and poses undue or unacceptable risk to national security.”

    The bill would also prioritize communications and tech that constitutes “critical infrastructure,” as well as enable the Commerce Secretary to take comprehensive action, including educating the public and businesses about potential security threats from foreign tech.

    “We need to protect Americans’ data and keep our country safe against today and tomorrow’s threats. While many of these foreign-owned technology products and social media platforms like TikTok are extremely popular, we also know these products can pose a grave danger to Wisconsin’s users and threaten our national security,” said Sen. Baldwin. “This bipartisan legislation will empower us to respond to our fast-changing environment – giving the United States the tools it needs to assess and act on current and future threats that foreign-owned technologies pose to Wisconsinites and our national security.”

    “There are a host of dangerous technology platforms – including TikTok – that can be manipulated by China and other foreign adversaries to threaten U.S. national security and abuse Americans’ personal data. I’m proud to join Senator Warner in introducing bipartisan legislation that would put an end to disjointed interagency responses and strengthen the federal government’s ability to counter these digital threats,” said Sen. Fischer.

  • US Lawmakers Want the FTC to Investigate TikTok’s Data Handling

    US Lawmakers Want the FTC to Investigate TikTok’s Data Handling

    TikTok continues to face pressure over its latest privacy faux pas, with two US senators asking the FTC to investigate the company.

    News broke in June that TikTok was sharing US user data with its employees in China in direct violation of the company’s own claims. The reports were based on leaked recordings of some 80 internal meetings. The reaction has been swift and predictable, with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr asking Apple and Google to ban the app from their stores. Adding to the company’s woes, two senators have penned a letter to the FTC asking the agency to investigate.

    Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio penned the letter, accusing the company of acting in direct violation of its executive’s sworn testimony:

    “We write in response to public reports that individuals in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have been accessing data on U.S. users, in contravention of several public representations, including sworn testimony in October 2021,” the senators wrote to FTC Chair Lina Khan. “In light of this new report, we ask that your agency immediately initiate a Section 5 investigation on the basis of apparent deception by TikTok, and coordinate this work with any national security or counter-intelligence investigation that may be initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

    The senators also make the case that TikTok was aware of the issue, and the company’s failure to do anything, along with its collection of biometric data, represents a major security threat:

    “TikTok’s Trust and Safety department was aware of these improper access practices and governance irregularities, which – according to internal recordings of TikTok deliberations – offered PRC-based employees unfettered access to user information, including birthdates, phone numbers, and device identification information. Recent updates to TikTok’s privacy policy, which indicate that TikTok may be collecting biometric data such as faceprints and voiceprints (i.e. individually-identifiable image and audio data, respectively), heighten the concern that data of U.S. users may be vulnerable to extrajudicial access by security services controlled by the CCP.”

    This isn’t the first time TikTok has found itself in hot water over its data practices. The company has stumbled from one privacy scandal to another, been the subject of multiple investigations and lawsuits, and was nearly banned in the US during the Trump administration.

    All things considered, it’s truly amazing the app is still on the market.

    The senators’ letter is quoted in its entirety below:

    Dear Chairwoman Khan:

    We write in response to public reports that individuals in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have been accessing data on U.S. users, in contravention of several public representations, including sworn testimony in October 2021. In an interview with the online publication Cyberscoop, the Global Chief Security Officer for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, made a number of public representations on the data security practices of TikTok, including unequivocal claims that the data of American users is not accessible to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the government of the PRC. As you know, TikTok’s privacy practices are already subject to a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission, based on its improper collection and processing of personal information from children. In light of this new report, we ask that your agency immediately initiate a Section 5 investigation on the basis of apparent deception by TikTok, and coordinate this work with any national security or counter-intelligence investigation that may be initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

    Additionally, these recent reports suggest that TikTok has also misrepresented its corporate governance practices, including to Congressional committees such as ours. In October 2021, TikTok’s head of public policy, Michael Beckerman, testified that TikTok has “no affiliation” with another ByteDance subsidiary, Beijing-based ByteDance Technology, of which the CCP owns a partial stake. Meanwhile, as recently as March of this year, TikTok officials reiterated to our Committee representations they have previously made that all corporate governance decisions are wholly firewalled from their PRC-based parent, ByteDance. Yet according to a recent report from Buzzfeed News, TikTok’s engineering teams ultimately report to ByteDance leadership in the PRC.

    According to this same report, TikTok’s Trust and Safety department was aware of these improper access practices and governance irregularities, which – according to internal recordings of TikTok deliberations – offered PRC-based employees unfettered access to user information, including birthdates, phone numbers, and device identification information. Recent updates to TikTok’s privacy policy, which indicate that TikTok may be collecting biometric data such as faceprints and voiceprints (i.e. individually-identifiable image and audio data, respectively), heighten the concern that data of U.S. users may be vulnerable to extrajudicial access by security services controlled by the CCP.

    A series of national security laws imposed by the CCP, including the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage Law provide extensive and extra-judicial access opportunities for CCP-controlled security services. Under these authorities, the CCP may compel access, regardless of where data is ultimately stored. While TikTok has suggested that migrating to U.S.-based storage from a U.S. cloud service provider alleviates any risk of unauthorized access, these latest revelations raise concerns about the reliability of TikTok representations: since TikTok will ultimately control all access to the cloud-hosted systems, the risk of access to that data by PRC-based engineers (or CCP security services) remains significant in light of the corporate governance irregularities revealed by BuzzFeed News. Moreover, as the recent report makes clear, the majority of TikTok data – including content posted by users as well as their unique IDs– will remain freely accessible to PRC-based ByteDance employees.

    In light of repeated misrepresentations by TikTok concerning its data security, data processing, and corporate governance practices, we urge you to act promptly on this matter.

    Sincerely,

  • Senators Want to Reform Section 230 Protections

    Senators Want to Reform Section 230 Protections

    Senators have introduced a bill to limit the protection afforded to tech companies by Section 230 and reform the legislation.

    Sens. Mark R. Warner, Mazie Hirono and Amy Klobuchar have announced Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (SAFE TECH) Act in an effort to reform Section 230. Section 230 is the law that protects social media platforms and other internet companies from being legally liable for what users post on their site.

    The law has increasingly come under fire, with many saying it fosters the unhealthy, toxic culture that has come to define many platforms. What’s more, social media companies have started taking a more active role in moderating the content on their platforms. While the move has been welcomes by many, the fact that companies are actively moderating undermines the argument that they need protection from user-posted content.

    “When Section 230 was enacted in 1996, the Internet looked very different than it does today. A law meant to encourage service providers to develop tools and policies to support effective moderation has instead conferred sweeping immunity on online providers even when they do nothing to address foreseeable, obvious and repeated misuse of their products and services to cause harm,” said Sen. Warner, a former technology entrepreneur and the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “Section 230 has provided a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card to the largest platform companies even as their sites are used by scam artists, harassers and violent extremists to cause damage and injury. This bill doesn’t interfere with free speech – it’s about allowing these platforms to finally be held accountable for harmful, often criminal behavior enabled by their platforms to which they have turned a blind eye for too long.”

    “Section 230 was passed in 1996 to incentivize then-nascent internet companies to voluntarily police illegal and harmful content posted by their users. Now, twenty-five years later, the law allows some of the biggest companies in the world turn a blind eye while their platforms are used to violate civil and human rights, stalk and harass people, and defraud consumers—all without accountability,” Sen. Hirono said. “The SAFE TECH Act brings Section 230 into the modern age by creating targeted exceptions to the law’s broad immunity. Internet platforms must either address the serious harms they impose on society or face potential civil liability.”

    “We need to be asking more from big tech companies, not less. How they operate has a real-life effect on the safety and civil rights of Americans and people around the world, as well as our democracy. Holding these platforms accountable for ads and content that can lead to real-world harm is critical, and this legislation will do just that,” said Sen. Klobuchar.

    Republicans have been calling for changes to Section 230 for some time. With three Democratic senators now proposing change, it’s a good chance Section 230’s days as we know it are numbered.