Biden Revokes Chinese App Ban Order, Chinese Tech Counter Bill Passes Senate, Switch Data Centers

Jun 9, 2021–President Joe Biden revoked executive orders signed by the Trump administration targeting Chinese applications Tik Tok and We Chat.

Instead, Biden has issued a new executive order that calls upon the Commerce Department to conduct a review of software applications connected to foreign adversaries.

This order will also require software applications to be reviewed when developed, designed, manufactured, or sold by persons from the People’s Republic of China.

Technology spending plan passes Senate

The Senate has passed a $250-billion spending plan Tuesday that is intended to counter the technological influence of China.

The bill, called the US Innovation and Competition Act, will go toward promoting industrial production and technological research, including semiconductor development and manufacturing.

Supporters of the bill say the package is one of the most significant investments in industry and scientific research that the country has seen in decades.

The legislation will now go to the House for a vote.

Switch building a data center in Texas

Las Vegas-based Switch said it plans to build 1.7-million square foot data centers next to Dell’s Global Headquarters in central Texas.

The data center will supply data storage capabilities for banks, health companies, cloud services, and movie theatres from all over the world.

The Las Vegas company, which bought the land, will ask for authorization from the city of Round Rock, Texas, to rezone the area for its data facilities.

The city’s zoning commission is scheduled to hold a public meeting on June 16.