A senior White House official cited by Reuters said that China has decided to shelve a new anti-terrorism law that would have required technology companies to hand over sensitive information.
As my colleague Ankit reported earlier, China’s draft anti-terrorism law would have required Western firms – most notably technological companies, but also financial institutions and even manufacturers – to give Beijing unprecedented access to sensitive data. For tech firms, that would mean allowing China access to encryption keys and installing “backdoors” that would provide Chinese regulators with access to software.
The Obama administration reacted swiftly to make their displeasure known. President Barack Obama himself spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to directly express his concerns. “We have made it very clear to them that this is something they are going to have to change if they are to do business with the United States,” Obama told Reuters. Other administration officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made their concerns clear as well.
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