The White House accused one of the largest Chinese corporations of leaking personal data of American customers to Chinese authorities
16 November 02:11
Chinese holding company Alibaba, which owns the AliExpress marketplace and its own AI model Qwen 2.5-Max, is passing data to the Chinese authorities that could pose a threat to US security, according to a White House memo, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to an intelligence-based document reviewed by the Financial Times, the group provides “technical support” to the To the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) “against targets in the United States.” What exactly these targets are is not specified.
In addition, the report claims that Alibaba provided the Chinese government and military with access to customer data, including IP addresses, Wi-Fi information, payment data, and AI-related services. Also, according to the document, the company’s employees provided the PLA with information about zero-day exploits – previously unknown software vulnerabilities that have not yet been fixed by developers. The FT notes that it cannot independently verify the information from the White House.
The newspaper also notes that Washington’s statement reflects growing US concerns about Chinese cloud services, AI systems, and Beijing’s ability to access and use sensitive data in the United States.
One US administration official said that the White House “takes these [cyber] threats very seriously and is working day and night to mitigate the current and potential risks and consequences of [this kind of] intrusions using untrusted vendors.”
The White House memo itself is dated November 1, coming just after President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea and agreed to a broad truce on trade restrictions for one year.
“The allegations, which are allegedly based on US intelligence disclosed by your source, are complete nonsense. This is a clear attempt to manipulate public opinion and defame Alibaba,” the corporation commented on the FT’s information, without providing information about possible cooperation with the PLA. The Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the United States of “distorting the facts” after the FT’s publication, saying that China is improving laws to protect personal privacy and data in AI activities.
Prior to that, US politicians and experts called on the White House to block 25 Chinese companies, including Alibaba, from accessing US markets and technology over concerns about their alleged ties to the PLA. They argued that Chinese government programs require corporations to provide technology to the country’s armed forces. China’s Huawei has already been blacklisted in the United States, and TikTok faces the same risk.
