WASHINGTON POST - Jan 11 - China experts and former intelligence officials are raising concerns about user data privacy following the acquisition of Grindr by a Chinese technology firm. The Chinese government could be in a position to demand sensitive details on the lives of millions of non-Chinese citizens. More and more, the U.S. government is worried about the acquisition of American technology companies by Chinese firms, which are subject to undue influence and control by Beijing. Only last week, the U.S. government rejected a huge Chinese acquisition. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US blocked Ant Financial, the investment arm of Alibaba Group, from buying Moneygram, the second-largest financial remittance firm in the US. Congress had raised concerns that allowing a Chinese company to own all the data of Americans sending each other money represented a national security issue for the US. The Trump administration agreed and killed the deal. Grindr's VP of marketing, Peter Sloterdyk said Grindr has never disclosed any user data to the Chinese government nor does it intend to do so. Grindr remains a U.S. company governed and protected by the laws of the US, he said.
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