While Utah blocks Chinese companies from buying land near our military installations, Microsoft hands them the keys to our digital infrastructure. This stark contrast reveals everything wrong with how some American companies prioritize profits over patriotism.
In July, Gov. Cox sent a clear message when he stopped a Chinese company from purchasing land near Provo Airport: “We are not for sale.” Utah Republicans understand that protecting our state from foreign adversaries isn’t negotiable. We’ve forced Chinese companies to divest tens of thousands of acres. We’ve passed the nation’s toughest foreign ownership restrictions. When a Chinese aerospace company dangled jobs and investment in Provo, we said no — because some things matter more than money.
Microsoft, apparently, disagrees.
For months, whistleblowers have exposed the jaw-dropping extent of Microsoft’s compromises with the Chinese Communist Party. One of the most shocking? For years, Microsoft has given Chinese companies advance notice about security vulnerabilities in software our government uses — before fixing them. They’re literally showing our adversaries the unlocked doors in our digital defenses.
This isn’t speculation. It’s a documented fact. When hackers exploited these vulnerabilities to breach federal agencies and universities worldwide last month, Microsoft quietly announced on Aug. 20 they would restrict Chinese access to their security information. This admission came too late. Just a year earlier, Chinese hackers had already accessed emails of senior U.S. officials using similar tactics.
Why would Microsoft take such risks with our information? Simple: market access. The Chinese Communist Party demands these concessions in exchange for Microsoft’s ability to operate in China and employ thousands of engineers there, including the engineers that were working remotely on Pentagon IT systems through the “digital escort” program that shocked the nation this summer. Under Chinese law, every company must share information with state intelligence. When Microsoft hires Chinese engineers to write code for systems our government uses, they’re effectively giving Chinese intelligence a free pass to our digital infrastructure.
The Trump administration understands this threat. When it was discovered that Microsoft was allowing Chinese engineers to work on Pentagon systems — with only token American oversight — the Pentagon shut it down immediately and started an investigation. No committees, no lengthy reviews. Just decisive action to protect American security. Chances are, it will uncover even more lapses.
The Biden administration? They looked the other way while Microsoft deepened its Chinese operations, while our adversaries mapped our vulnerabilities.
This legislative session, my colleagues and I will be introducing bills to protect Utah’s cybersecurity. Any company handling our state’s digital security will need to prove that no foreign adversaries have access to their systems, their code or their security information. Period.
But state action alone isn’t enough. We need federal leadership. President Donald Trump has shown he’ll confront companies that compromise our security. Senators Lee and Curtis must back him completely — no corporate lobbying excuses, no claims that “it’s complicated.” It’s not complicated: you either put America first or you don’t.
Microsoft wants it both ways — billions in U.S. government contracts while maintaining massive operations in China, trusted with our secrets while sharing vulnerabilities with our biggest rival. After their security failures enabled breaches of our federal systems, they promised to “scale back” Chinese access. Scale back? How about shutting it down?
Some will argue this is just business, that global companies must operate globally. Those people should ask everyday Americans how much of their personal data and how much Defense Department data they’re comfortable with the Chinese stealing in order to pad Microsoft’s profits.
Utah gets it. When China comes knocking, we don’t calculate the profits — we calculate the risks. We don’t take the easy money — we defend the nation. Gov. Cox didn’t ask what Chinese investment could do for our economy; he asked what it could do to our security.
The picture is clear: Utah is passing up on international investment for the security of the nation.
President Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp. Exposing and ending Microsoft’s security betrayals would prove he means it. No more early warnings to Beijing. No more Chinese engineers in our government systems. No more choosing profits over patriotism.
The message from Utah is simple: We’re not for sale to China, and neither should be our national security. It’s time for Microsoft — and every American company — to choose a side.