US to Purge ‘Untrusted’ Apps in New Measures Against China

The U.S. government is stepping up efforts against Chinese technology companies as it prepares to purge App Stores of "untrusted" Chinese apps, reports Reuters.

iu

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. "Clean Network" program would focus on five areas and include steps to prevent various Chinese apps and telecoms companies from accessing the sensitive information of American citizens and businesses. One U.S. official said it was a push back against a "massive campaign to steal and weaponize our data against us."

The announcement comes the week after President Donald Trump threatened to outright ban TikTok within the United States.

"With parent companies based in China, apps like TikTok, WeChat and others are significant threats to personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for CCP (Chinese Communist Party) content censorship," Pompeo said.

In an interview to Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said the U.S. had "no right" to establish the Clean Network program and called the actions by Washington "a textbook case of bullying."

"Anyone can see through clearly that the intention of the U.S. is to protect its monopoly position in technology and to rob other countries of their proper right to development," said Wang.

Microsoft now faces a deadline of September 15 to purchase TikTok, or the platform will be banned in the U.S.

Moreover, Pompeo explained that the United States is working to prevent Chinese telecoms company Huawei from being able to install popular U.S. apps on its devices. The exact apps and services to be banned from Huawei devices is as yet unknown.

"We don't want companies to be complicit in Huawei's human rights abuses, or the CCP's surveillance apparatus," Pompeo stated.

Pompeo said the State Department would work with other government agencies to protect the data of American citizens and intellectual property, including vaccine research, by preventing access from cloud-based systems run by Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, China Mobile, China Telecom, and Tencent.

The Secretary of State is joining Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to urge the U.S. telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, to terminate the authorization of China Telecom and three other Chinese companies to provide services in the United States.

He also drew attention to new State Department precautions to ensure China could not compromise information carried by undersea cables that connect the United States to the global internet. He called on U.S. allies "to join the growing tide to secure our data from the CCP's surveillance state and other malign entities."

Huawei, ByteDance, and various other Chinese companies deny allegations that they spy for the Chinese government, and says the United States seeks to frustrate its growth because no domestic U.S. company can offer the same technology at a competitive price.

The U.S. government now regards more than 30 territories as "Clean Countries" with "Clean Telcos" in the program. The statement from Pompeo and expansion of the Clean Network program reflects an accelerated push by Washington to limit the access of Chinese technology companies to the United States.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

JimmyBanks6 Avatar
44 months ago
I wouldn't be opposed to this idea for the right reasons (protecting user data privacy), but in that case these rules need to be applied to European and American companies as well.

I am opposed to this as a trade war tactic.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
44 months ago
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said the U.S. had "no right" to establish the Clean Network program


The irony coming from CHINA! Last time I checked you can’t use Instagram, Facebook or even TIKTOK in China either.

HOWEVER this seems for more like a disguise, excused as „privacy concerns“ than anything. Otherwise the same should be said about local apps such as FB etc
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GrumpyCoder Avatar
44 months ago
Welcome to the United Dictatorship of America. All these years of complaining about China and Russia only to follow in their footsteps. Just like Samsung taunting Apple about the headphone jack only to remove it later.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ar40 Avatar
44 months ago
Good move. The way China is reacting to this, shows me how much spyware is in these apps.

China is a clear and present danger to us all and needs to be shown its place. Spying on American citizens is unacceptable.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
44 months ago
About time. Less threatening more doing though.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
44 months ago
Well, China bans Google services, YouTube, Facebook... after all
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
best buy snowflakes

Best Buy's New Weekend Sale Has Record Low Prices on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Friday December 8, 2023 7:37 am PST by
Best Buy's month-long holiday sale continues this weekend with multiple all-time low prices on Apple's line of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers. In addition to Apple notebooks, Best Buy's event has discounts sitewide on home appliances, TVs, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive...
beeper mini

Apple Puts a Stop to Beeper Mini's iMessage for Android Feature

Friday December 8, 2023 2:24 pm PST by
Apple appears to have closed the loophole that Beeper Mini used to bring iMessage to Android, putting a stop to blue bubbles from Android devices. Beeper Mini quit working earlier today, with users receiving "failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out" error messages. Beeper said on Twitter that it is investigating the issue, but Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky told TechCrunch that "all ...
maxresdefault

Review: Two Months With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday December 7, 2023 12:04 pm PST by
Apple's iPhone 15 lineup came out in September, and while most reviews are done shortly after a new device launches, we like to follow up with a longer term review that gives us an opportunity to provide a deeper dive into what it's like using these phones on a day to day basis for months. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been...
12

Apple to Launch Two iPad Air and Two OLED iPad Pro Models Early Next Year

Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:53 am PST by
To boost falling iPad sales, Apple has a major refresh planned for the iPad lineup in early 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple plans to debut new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, both of which will feature notable changes. The iPad Air will come in two sizes like the iPad Pro for the first time. The smaller model will continue to measure in at 10.9 inches, but the larger version...
anker new gold

Anker Begins Countdown to Christmas Sale With Up to 50% Off Popular Charging Accessories

Thursday December 7, 2023 7:55 am PST by
Anker has launched its newest holiday sale, this one offering a special deal every day in the lead-up to Christmas. These sales offer up to 50 percent off select products, and include discounts on USB-C chargers, portable batteries, and much more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which ...