TikTok on Wednesday denied reports that the Biden administration was urging Chinese owners to sell their shares in the popular video-sharing app, saying such a move would not help protect security. nation.
The company is responding to a Wall Street Journal report that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a division of the Treasury Department, is threatening to ban the app in the United States unless its owner, ByteDance Ltd, based in Beijing, do so. no divestment.
“If protecting national security is the goal, divestment does not solve the problem:
Maureen Shanahan, a spokesperson for TikTok, said the ownership change would not impose any new restrictions on streams or data access. “The best way to address national security concerns is to provide transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. users’ data and systems, with monitoring, auditing, and Strong third-party testing we are 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 remove TikTok from all government devices.
The Office of Management and Budget called the guidelines “an important step forward in addressing application-posed risks to sensitive government data.” Several agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Departments of Homeland Security and State, have implemented restrictions. The White House has disallowed TikTok on its device.
Congress passed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” in December as part of a sweeping government funding package. The law allows TikTok to be used in certain circumstances, including for national security, law enforcement, and research purposes. Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers have moved on with legislation that would give the Biden administration more control over TikTok.
Representative Mike McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, strongly criticized the app, saying that the Chinese Communist Party uses it to “manipulate and monitor its users while it devours data.” data of Americans to use for their malicious activities.
“Anyone who downloads TikTok on their device gives the CCP a backdoor to get all their personal information. It’s a spy ball in your phone,” the Texas Republican said.
TikTok is still extremely popular and used by two-thirds of teenagers in the United States. But there are growing concerns that Beijing could gain control of the US user data the app has obtained.