The House Select Committee on China has analyzed internal communications from Webull that suggest a company employee located in China had access to U.S. customer information, contradicting Webull's previous claims of strict data protection. This revelation follows a report that highlighted Webull's structural connections to the Chinese government, leading to a 19% drop in the company's shares.
The messages, exchanged in 2021, show discussions about a U.S. customer account between Brendan Fuller, a U.S. manager, and Zhenghan Wang, who was likely in China at the time. The committee's findings raise questions about Webull's data handling practices, especially since Chinese laws could compel companies to share data with the government.
Although Webull maintains that its customer data is securely stored in the U.S. and only accessible by U.S.-based employees, the committee's report challenges this assertion, noting that Webull Technologies Limited previously utilized Tencent Cloud, a Chinese provider, for some user data.
This situation could lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and affect investor sentiment regarding Webull's operations and data security measures