The U.S. government is scrutinizing Alibaba's cloud business to determine whether it jeopardizes national security. (Photo from Reuters)

(We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, January 18, 2022) The U.S. government is reviewing Alibaba's cloud business to determine whether it jeopardizes national security, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The review focuses on how Alibaba stores U.S. customer data, including personal information and intellectual property, and whether Chinese officials can access that data. In addition, Beijing authorities may interfere with the access rights of American users, which is also one of the potential concerns of the United States.

Reuters reported that the U.S. could eventually force Alibaba to take steps to reduce the risk to U.S. national security from its cloud business, or completely ban the use of Alibaba Cloud services by Americans at home and abroad.

Alibaba's cloud business is small in the U.S., with annual revenue estimated at less than $50 million, according to research firm Gartner. Well-known American companies that currently have business relationships with Alibaba Cloud include Ford Motor, IBM's Red Hat, and Hewlett-Packard.

(Source: World Journal)