Biden Takes on China

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Biden Bans Data Sales & Probes Chinese EVs

You know it’s election season when social media becomes particularly toxic and politicians start pushing pro-America policy.

Biden must have checked his calendar, saw that this year had 366 days, and realized that it must be an election year, so he made two announcements that were patriotic af:

• He banned the sale of American data to hostile foreign countries.

• He launched an investigation into Chinese EVs.

The first headline sounds more important, so let’s break it down:

• Commercial data brokers know that you forgot to wash your hands thanks to the paper trail that we leave across the internet

• They collect and organize this vast amount of information

• They sell it to companies and even countries

• This data can be linked to individuals, even government officials

• Cue the blackmail and counter-surveillance

The Executive Order covers “most personal and sensitive information, including genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data, and certain kinds of personally identifiable information.”

In theory, this sounds great. Xi won’t be able to see that I watched Love is Blind for 12 hours and ordered 4 pizzas this week? Count me in.

However, there might be more bark than bite with this one:

• The EO expires at the end of his term

• Most organizations don’t even realize how much data they have

Biden will win some brownie points, and the cause is noble, but the EO leaves a lot to be desired.

Biden loves his EVs, so it must’ve burned to also announce an investigation into Chinese EV companies.

He cited companies like BYD using Chinese software, which could be used to collect information on American citizens a la TikTok, a valid concern.

However, this one is even more politically-motivated.

Biden just sat down with automakers in the Midwest (see: Swing) states.

He know that if Chinese EVs would crush the American auto industry, making him no friends among the everyday voter. Some of China’s EVs go for as low as $11,000 versus the American $50,000. There’s only so much that Biden’s $7500 tax credit can do, plus China began to build factories in Mexico to qualify anyways.

Uncle Sam’s protection of Detroit, unfortunately, comes at the expense of quicker EV adoption, limiting affordable transportation options for American citizens everywhere.

Both of these moves takes advantage of the red, white, and blue blood that flows through our patriotic, clogged arteries and veins.

However, they do highlight multiple entrepreneurial opportunities.

• Helping businesses to interpret the data that they’re collecting on their customers is a $10 billion business

• Nobody outside of Tesla is offering affordable EVs

There are clearly opportunities for startups here, but the bigger takeaway is that the more patriotic and seemingly universally supportable the name of the law…

the more wary you should be of what’s actually going on between the lines.

President Biden announces a ban on the sale of American data to foreign countries and launches an investigation into Chinese EVs in a bid to protect national interests and promote pro-America policies. These moves, while patriotic, spotlight potential for both political gain and entrepreneurial opportunities amid concerns over execution and impact on EV adoption.

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Cheers to another day,

Trey