FIRST ON FOX: Republicans Rep. Michelle Steel of California and Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas introduced a bill to stop the spread of a popular Chinese Communist Party (CCP) logistics software in America.
Steel and Cotton are leading the Securing Maritime Data from Communist China Act in their respective chambers to prevent the Chinese state-owned logistics software LOGINK from being used for commercial interests at ports or by the U.S. military domestically and abroad.
LOGINK tracks commercial and military logistics and presents a national security conundrum: its ownership by the CCP means that all the data collected is given to the Chinese government, granting them major insight into America’s and our allies’ supply chains.
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“The world is only now becoming aware of the extent of the Chinese Communist Party’s espionage,” Steel said in a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
“The CCP has used the data and logistics platform LOGINK for years to spy on our supply chains and gather data about any potential weaknesses,” the California Republican continued.
“As the CCP continually escalates their aggression towards democracies around the world, the urgency of this legislation cannot be overstated. This threat must be addressed immediately, for the sake of our national security and that of all freedom loving nations,” she added.
In the press release, Cotton said the “United States shouldn’t actively aid China’s spy operations” by using the platform that can track the military’s supply chains.
“Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens when we allow our commercial or even military ships to be tracked with LOGINK, a Chinese data collection platform,” Cotton said.
“Our bill would stop the Department of Defense from partnering with any group that uses LOGINK and prevent the software’s spread,” he continued.
The GOP lawmakers’ bill would ban the Department of Defense (DOD) from contracting with or using entities using LOGINK and require President Biden to ban entities from using the platform or sharing data with it.
Additionally, the bill would mandate a report from the administration on LOGINK’s threat that includes reporting on port bans and would have the U.S. engage with international partners to halt the platform’s use and prohibit it from being included in any economic or trade packages.
LOGINK has been around since 2007 and concerns similar to those of Huawei and ZTE have been raised against the logistics platform.
Currently, the bill has several GOP cosponsors, including Reps. Brian Mast of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Ben Cline of Virginia.