There’s bipartisan concern in Congress about TikTok. The app is owned by a Chinese parent company and collects vast sums of data from its users including location, keystrokes and biometrics. Now, a senator is raising the alarm about Chinese-owned finance apps that also collect sensitive personal information but have largely flown under the radar compared to TikTok.
Webull and Moomoo are financial trading apps that are competitors to Robinhood. They are owned by Chinese companies and collect information including Social Security numbers, mailing addresses and financial account data.
“All major Chinese companies answer to the Chinese Communist Party. It’s unbelievable that the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority better known as FINRA let these apps operate in the United States,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said in a statement to Straight Arrow News. “That’s why I’m sounding the alarm on this.”
Webull is owned by Fumi Technology, a Chinese holding company. One of Fumi’s main investors is Xiaomi, another tech company that focuses on mobile devices. It’s essentially the Apple of China.
Moomoo Financial is owned by Futu Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong based company. Futu’s investors include Tencent, a Chinese telecommunications company.
Both Xiaomi and Tencent have been accused of helping the Chinese Communist Party surveil and censor its citizens. The companies said those accusations are false.
Their businesses are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
The Trump administration put Xiaomi on a U.S. investment blacklist, but a judge struck that down and the Biden administration decided not to pursue it further.
Sen. Tuberville and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., are asking the SEC and FINRA to explain how they ensure the company’s compliance, especially with rules regarding record keeping, supervision and document collection and production.
“The SEC needs to wake up. China is our biggest rival and threat,” Sen. Tuberville said.
Tuberville said the U.S. needs full access to all the company’s audit documents, so they can ensure they are on a level playing field with American companies.
