Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a U.S. Senate hearing the
department is working "to secure our communications and technology
networks and we are right now in the process of hiring a team to do
monitoring, investigation and enforcement."
Raimondo told Reuters after the hearing "we're hiring dozens of
people" to "look for any companies that may pose undue security risk
to our networks or to our data."
Concerns about Chinese-owned TikTok have sparked new efforts in
Congress to boost powers to address it or potentially ban the
popular short video sharing app.
On Wednesday, Biden administration agencies briefed senators in a
previously unreported closed session on "Foreign adversaries
exploitation of America's data from social media platforms, data
brokers and other companies," according to Republican Senator Jerry
Moran.
Under Commerce Secretary for Industry and Security Alan Estevez was
among those addressing information and communications technology
supply (ICTS) chain threats, the department said.
Around 20 senators attended the briefing organized by the Commerce
Committee, aides said.
Last month, Senators Mark Warner and John Thune joined by 24 other
senators proposed the Restrict Act to grant the Commerce Department
new authority to review or block a range of transactions involving
foreign that pose national security risks.
"I think it is a top priority and we need to move with urgency,"
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a Senate hearing on
Wednesday of the legislative effort. "It's more than one company and
it is a constant pervasive threat and we need the permanent tools
properly funded with expertise."
The White House and Raimondo support the Restrict act. Critics say
the bill is overbroad and hurts civil liberties of Americans
including the more than 150 million U.S. TikTok users. Tiktok denies
it improperly uses U.S. data.
Raimondo said the department has been active in addressing threats
from China.
"I've put over 200 Chinese companies on the entity list in my tenure
and we are actively, constantly investigating additional threats and
if and as we think companies need to go onto the list, I will not
hesitate," she said.
Days before then President Donald Trump left office in 2021, the
Commerce Department issued aimed at addressing ICTS concerns posed
by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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