WORLD NEWS | White House praises US senators for introducing bills targeting TikTok and other foreign tech

washington [US], March 8 (ANI): On Tuesday, the White House praised a group of senators for introducing the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats from Information and Communications Technology Risks (RESTRICT) Act, which would give the U.S. government new powers to take action against technology. National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said in a statement on Tuesday (local time) that it posed a risk to the country. The White House urged Congress to pass the legislation and bring it to the president’s desk.

Jack Sullivan said the legislation would empower the U.S. government to prevent certain governments from using technology services operating in the U.S. in ways that pose risks to personal sensitive data and national security.

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His statement came after a group of senators led by Senators Mark Warner and John Thune introduced a bill that would address foreign adversary technology threats by authorizing the Commerce Department to review, prevent and mitigate information communications and technology transactions. The ongoing threat to national security is as great as TikTok.

“We applaud the bipartisan group of senators led by Senators Warner and Thune, who today introduced the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats at Risk from Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act. This legislation would empower the U.S. government to block certain foreign governments from technology services operating in the United States in a manner that poses a risk to Americans’ sensitive data and our national security,” Sullivan said in a statement.

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Sullivan noted that the bill proposes a systematic framework for addressing technology-based threats to the safety of Americans. He emphasized that the legislation would provide the U.S. government with new mechanisms to mitigate the national security risks posed by high-risk technology companies operating in the country.

“Crucially, this will strengthen our ability to address the discrete risks posed by individual transactions as well as the systemic risks posed by certain classes of transactions involving countries of concern in sensitive technology areas. This will help us address the threats we face today , and prevent such future risks,” Sullivan said in a statement.

He further stated, “We look forward to continuing to work with Democrats and Republicans on this bill and urge Congress to act quickly to bring it to the President’s desk.”

Earlier, Mark Warner said in a statement, “Today, the threat everyone is talking about is TikTok and how it can enable the Chinese Communist Party to conduct surveillance, or facilitate the spread of malicious influence activities in the United States. However, before TikTok , It is Huawei and ZTE that threaten our national telecommunications network. Before that, it was Russia’s Kaspersky Lab that threatened the security of government and corporate equipment.”

Warner said the United States needs a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively addresses sources of dangerous technologies before they gain a foothold in the United States. “The Restriction Act establishes a risk-based process, tailored to the rapidly changing technology and threat environment, that directs the Department of Commerce to identify and mitigate foreign threats to information and communications technology products and services,” he said in a statement.

“We need a holistic, risk-based approach that proactively addresses the sources of potentially dangerous technologies before they gain a foothold in the United States so we don’t play whack-a-mole or when they’re already ubiquitous. scrambling to catch up,” Warner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator John Thune said Congress needed to stop taking a “piecemeal approach” to technology from “hostile countries that pose a national security risk.”

“Our country needs a process in place to address these risks, which is why I’m pleased to work with Senator Warner to develop a holistic, methodical approach to addressing the threat posed by technology platforms like TikTok from foreign adversaries,” Thune in a statement.

“This bipartisan legislation will take the steps necessary to ensure the security of consumers’ information and our communications technology infrastructure,” he further said. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)