In this file photo illustration, the TikTok logo is displayed on the screen of an iPhone on a US flag background in Arlington, Virginia. , photo credit: AFP
TikTok was downplaying reports that the Biden administration was calling on its Chinese owners to sell their stake Popular Video-Sharing AppsSuch a move will not help protect national security.
was responding to a report in the company wall street journal That said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, part of the Treasury Department, was threatening to impose a US ban on the app unless its owner, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, divested.
TikTok spokeswoman Maureen Shanahan said, “If the objective is to protect national security, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership will not impose any new restrictions on data flow or access.”
“The best way to address concerns about national security is with transparent, US-based security of US user data and systems coupled with robust third-party monitoring, vetting and verification, which we are already implementing ” The Journal report cited anonymous “people familiar with the matter”. The Treasury Department and the White House National Security Council declined to comment.
Late last month, the White House gave all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government equipment.
The Office of Management and Budget called the guidance an “important step to address the risks presented by apps to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and the state, already have restrictions in place. The White House already doesn’t allow TikTok on its devices.
Congress passed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” in December as part of a broader government funding package. The law allows for the use of TikTok in certain cases, including for national security, law enforcement and research purposes.
stricter laws
Meanwhile, lawmakers in both the House and Senate are moving forward with legislation that would give the Biden administration more power to crack down on TikTok.
Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has been an outspoken critic of the app, saying the Chinese Communist Party is using it to “manipulate and monitor its users, while it uses Americans’ data to prepares to do.” Malicious activities.” The Texas Republican said, “Anyone who has downloaded TikTok on their device has given the CCP a backdoor for all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon in your phone.”
TikTok remains hugely popular and is used by two-thirds of teens in the US, but there is growing concern that Beijing could gain control of US user data obtained by the app.
The company has been defying the ban for federal equipment and has noted that it is developing security and data privacy plans as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing national security review.