In February, Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, stating no “Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people.” Of equal concern is the more than $4,000,000 Colorado spent on dangerous Lenovo, Inc. technology, as uncovered by China Tech Threat’s (CTT) recent research.
Between 2016 and 2023, Colorado spent $4,702,700 on risky Chinese technology from Lenovo, as outlined in CTT’s fact sheet. The purchasing agencies include the Department of Natural Resources, the Legislature, and the Department of Corrections. These agencies hold extensive sensitive information and legislative and personal data at risk of theft through the use of this technology by Chinese government-owned manufacturers already banned by U.S. military and intelligence agencies due to their connection with the PRC government and military. (Read more about Lexmark, Lenovo and two other dangerous Chinese government-owned tech manufacturers in our February briefing paper.)
To counteract these threats, Colorado’s legislators can follow the actions of legislators in over a dozen states who have acted to ban state agencies from purchasing and deploying Chinese technology to prevent the exposure of government and citizens’ sensitive information to the Chinese government. In just the past few weeks South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed SB 189 into law in March, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed HB 294 and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed HB 1789 in April, and, most recently, on May 1 Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed SB 477.
Legislation banning the purchase of this risky Chinese technology would put Colorado on the right track toward securing its sensitive data and Coloradans’ personal information from Chinese surveillance.