The College Board also said that the at-home SAT testing would be “simple, secure and fair, accessible to all, and valid for use in college admissions,” but did not specify how it would be done, especially for those who lack resources like reliable broadband internet. 

If schools do open again, the College Board said it would provide weekend SAT administrations every month beginning in August. It also plans to “significantly expand” capacity for testing once schools reopen. 

However, even this might not be necessary. In light of the situation, many colleges have waived the requirements for standardized testing for 2021 applicants. 

 

The changes could impact companies like Apple and TikTok. Per Chinese law, Apple began storing Chinese users’ iCloud accounts in a Chinese data center last year. Apple says it still controls encryption keys, but Hawley sees this as a national security threat. And like other senators, Hawley fears TikTok’s owner ByteDance could be pressured to cooperate with intelligence work by the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok has denied those accusations.

According to a one-page summary released by Hawley’s office, “China and countries that similarly threaten America’s national security are taking steps to vacuum up our sensitive data.” Supposedly, this act would prevent that. But it could also cause serious problems for tech companies that are legally obligated to store data in China. It might force them to leave China altogether.

Hawley has previously proposed making user data “portable” across social networks and restricting social network features deemed addictive. He has asked the FTC to investigate how social networks curate content, pushed for an investigation into Amazon’s handling of child privacy and introduced legislation to ban loot boxes in gaming. The National Security and Personal Data Protection Act isn’t Hawley’s first tech-focussed bill, but like the others, its survival is up in the air.