Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) talks on a mobile phone after voting the day after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 25, 2022.
Joshua Roberts | reuters
Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo. urged the CEO of apple And Google in a letter on Thursday called for TikTok to be removed from its mobile app store immediately, citing widespread concerns the Chinese government could access information on Americans who use the app.
Bennett’s request, who sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, It highlights both growing concern over the potential national security risks of TikTok and the power Apple and Google have to decide which apps Americans can access.
Bennett told the CEOs of both firms that TikTok is unique from other social media platforms because of its China-based parent company ByteDance, which will be subject to Chinese law. need to hand over internal data To assist the government in intelligence work.
“Beijing’s requirement raises a clear risk that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could weaponize TikTok against the US, in particular, by forcing ByteDance to surrender Americans’ sensitive data or to force Americans to further China’s interests,” Bennett wrote. may compel him to manipulate the material received in order to enhance the “These clear risks render TikTok, in its current form, an unacceptable threat to the national security of the United States.”
TikTok has repeatedly tried to assure concerned US lawmakers and officials that it does not store US user data in China. this has happened too negotiations with the US government about how it can mitigate potential national security risks by continuing to operate here.
But so far many legislators remain unconvinced, Congress passed a bill late last year Banning TikTok from government devices, others have proposed banning tiktok Totally in America. The limits on Tiktok have also increased to a great extent. many states and universities,
In his letter, Bennett cited a BuzzFeed News article from last year based on recordings of internal meetings that repeatedly found China-based employees at TikTok’s parent company. Accessed Information About US TikTok users. Bennett also cited a recent Forbes article describing TikTok’s practice “Heatingor promoting select videos to help them go viral.
Bennett added that “there is a very real possibility that the CCP could coerce TikTok through ByteDance to use its influence to further the interests of the Chinese government, for example, to undermine US democratic institutions or to undermine the CCP”. By tweaking its algorithm to feature US content to mitigate criticisms of Hong Kong, Taiwan, or its policy towards its Uyghur population.”
“Unfortunately, Senator Bennett’s letter relies on misleading reporting about TikTok, the data we collect, and our data protection controls,” TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwatter said in a statement. “It also reflects the considerable investment we’ve made through Project Texas – a plan negotiated with our country’s top national security experts – to provide our community with additional assurances about their data security and the integrity of the TikTok platform.” ignores.”
Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.