Tag: us lawmaker

Top US Lawmaker Chuck Schumer Expected To Visit India

Top US Lawmaker Chuck Schumer Expected To Visit India

By LokMarg

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to visit India with a high-profile delegation of Senate Democrats for meetings with the Indian leadership. The details of his visit are being worked out, sources familiar with the deliberations told ANI.

An official said Democrat Senator Schumer’s office is eyeing his travel to India as early as next week and the top lawmaker will be visiting multiple countries. The Senator’s trip to India is not currently on Schumer’s public itinerary and comes at a time when US-India relations are at a high point. Schumer’s office didn’t respond to ANI’s request for a comment.
“This high-profile visit will spread across several countries including India. Schumer and the delegation are expected to stay more than a day or two and will also visit other cities apart from New Delhi,” a senior official told ANI. Apart from the political engagements, Schumer is also expected to meet with some Indian business leaders.

“This visit is a personal visit but it certainly will accelerate the steady upward momentum between the two democracies using strategic partnership, defence, trade and diaspora,” the official further added.

Earlier, ANI had reported on the US Department of State is looking at the first week of March for a possible visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and meetings in New Delhi, which would be a run-up to US President Joe Biden’s meeting with leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad.

Apart from this US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is scheduled to travel to India in March to co-chair the US-India CEO Forum and US-India Commercial Dialogue meetings with her Indian counterpart Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

On January 31, National Security Advisors and other agency heads from the United States and India met in Washington, DC for the inaugural meeting of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, which allows the US to partner with a country looking to compete with China’s technological advances.

On Tuesday, the White House announced that Air India has agreed to a historic purchase of airplanes from Boeing. A phone call between US President Joe Biden with PM Narendra Modi took place following the “landmark announcement.”

According to a statement by the PMO, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the deepening of the India-US. Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, which has resulted in robust growth in all domains. They also expressed a keen desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in space, semi-conductors, supply chains and defence co-production.

PM Modi invited Boeing and other US companies to make use of the opportunities arising due to the expanding civil aviation sector in India.

On Wednesday the US said that the commercial plane deal between Air India and Boeing is an opportunity to deepen an already profoundly intertwined relationship between India and the United States.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s recently wrapped up a visit to the US during which India and US launched a program to enhance their strategic partnership. The two sides announced a set of programs whose aim is to increase the depth and scope of bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge technology, including in the defence sector.

Delegations led by Doval and his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan held a meeting in Washington for the inaugural dialogue of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

Doval also held a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks and discussed priorities for the US-India bilateral defence partnership included strengthening policy and operational coordination in the Indo-Pacific region and increasing defence industrial cooperation between the two nations. (ANI)

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TikTok Pakistan

US Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban TikTok On Govt Devices

By LokMarg

A US lawmaker on Wednesday introduced a bill to prohibit the Chinese video sharing app TikTok from accessing thier citizens’ user data from within China and block the installation of the application on government devices.

The bill, introduced by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson from South Dakota, also intends to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to initiate an investigation to determine if TikTok has engaged in unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
“Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced the Block the Tok Act, a bill that would prohibit TikTok from accessing U.S. citizens’ user data from within China and block the installation of TikTok on government devices,” US Representative Johnson said in a statement.

The bill also looks to prohibit the installation and use of TikTok at military installations and national security agencies (CIA, NSA, FBI, etc.). It also wishes to prohibit the installation and use of TikTok on federal government devices.

Earlier this year, reports indicated the Chinese parent company of TikTok was freely accessing sensitive user data such as passwords, keystrokes, browser history, and voice and facial recognition

“According to TikTok’s own employees, ‘everything is seen in China,'” said Johnson. “It might seem trivial to go after an app known for viral dance videos, but TikTok is a national security concern. TikTok has more than one billion users, and China is using Americans’ information to advance its communist agenda. It’s no secret China’s goal is to replace the U.S. as the world’s superpower – Americans shouldn’t help China advance its agenda. Block the Tok keeps China’s hands off your personal information.”

According to Johnson, TikTok circumvented privacy safeguards since 2020 and paid nearly USD 100 million in fines for improper data collection. Currently, several government agencies have adviced employees against downloading the Chinese app on government devices.

The Block the Tok Act would put safeguards in place to ensure better user privacy, pursue transparency, and protect our national security. This act comes as several countries have expressed apprehensions about the Chinese app. Some have even banned the application citing security risks.

Last month, a former Google engineer revealed that the web browser used within China’s TikTok app can track every keystroke made by its users.

A report by The New York Times said that collecting information on what people type on their phones while visiting outside websites, which can reveal credit card numbers and passwords, is often a feature of malware and other hacking tools.

While major technology companies might use such trackers as they test new software, it is not common for them to release a major commercial app with the feature, whether or not it is enabled, NTY quoted researchers as saying.

“Based on Krause’s findings, the way TikTok’s custom in-app browser monitors keystrokes is problematic, as the user might enter their sensitive data such as login credentials on external websites,” said Jane Manchun Wong, an independent software engineer and security researcher who studies apps for new features.

However, TikTok in the statement said that Krause’s report was “incorrect and misleading” and that the feature was used for “debugging, troubleshooting and performance monitoring.”

“Contrary to the report’s claims, we do not collect keystroke or text inputs through this code,” TikTok said. (ANI)