TikTok is going through one more name from a distinguished lawmaker for the app’s ban, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, despatched a letter to Apple and Google urging the businesses to ban TikTok from their respective app shops.
Within the letter, Bennet says that “TikTok, in its present kind, [is] an unacceptable risk to the nationwide safety of america.” The letter, addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, repeats lots of the similar factors which have been raised by different lawmakers searching for to ban the app.
Particularly, Bennet raises the likelihood that TikTok’s dad or mum firm, ByteDance, could possibly be compelled to “use its affect to advance Chinese language authorities pursuits,” by way of TikTok. “Like most social media platforms, TikTok collects huge and complicated knowledge from its customers, together with faceprints and voiceprints,” Bennet writes. “In contrast to most social media platforms, TikTok poses a novel concern as a result of Chinese language legislation obligates ByteDance, its Beijing-based dad or mum firm, to ‘help, help, and cooperate with state intelligence work.’”
TikTok has lengthy denied that such eventualities may play out, and has tried to downplay its ties to China. “Sadly, Senator Bennet’s letter depends virtually solely on deceptive reporting about TikTok, the information we accumulate, and our knowledge safety controls,” TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter mentioned in a press release. “It additionally ignores the appreciable funding we now have made by means of Challenge Texas—a plan negotiated with our nation’s prime nationwide safety specialists—to offer further assurances to our group about their knowledge safety and the integrity of the TikTok platform.”
Apple and Google didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Whereas it appears unlikely both firm would take such a drastic step based mostly on a letter from one senator, it highlights the mounting stress and scrutiny on TkTok. The corporate has spent the final two years negotiating with the Committee on Overseas Funding in america (CFIUS) with a view to safe its potential to proceed to function within the US. However that course of is reportedly stalled, and the corporate has been waging a brand new charm offensive in an try and win over critics.
TikTok has additionally been sharing extra details round its partnership with Oracle to safeguard US consumer knowledge and adjust to US regulators’ considerations. However lawmakers appear to be in no rush to let TikTok off the hook. The app has already been banned from federal gadgets, and quite a few state governments have handed bans of their very own. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify at his first Congressional listening to subsequent month.
Replace 2/2 8:27 PM PT: Added TikTok’s response to the letter.
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