A bipartisan group of senators has called on Apple and Google to remove China-owned virtual private networks, or VPNs, from their app stores, warning that these apps pose a threat to U.S. national security because of their ties to China’s military.
Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), both serving on the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter dated July 24 to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The lawmakers expressed concern that some Chinese VPN apps are linked to Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity company that was added to the Commerce Department’s economic blacklist for supporting the procurement of items for use by the Chinese military.
