The United States is considering banning the popular Chinese social media app TikTok, according to its Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo said that this was more than a veiled threat, admitting that Trump’s administration was “taking this very seriously.” The ban could also include other popular Chinese social media apps.
“With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too” he said on Fox News.
Washington’s top diplomat added that people should only download the app “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Such comments will continue to escalate tensions between the US and China, which have spilled over into national security, trade and politics. At the same time, a number of political analysts have indicated that such tirades against Chinese interests are diversionary strategies by President Donald Trump, who is seeking to rally his supporters as the pandemic and its economic repercussions have dented his re-election hopes.
TikTok — which is owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance — has been repeatedly criticized by US politicians who accused the short-form video app of being a threat to national security because of its ties to China. They allege that the company could be compelled to “support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”
TikTok insists that it operates separately from ByteDance. It says its data centers are located entirely outside of China, and that none of that data is subject to Chinese law. Information related to US users is stored in the United States, with a backup in Singapore, according to TikTok.
Tiktok was downloaded 315 million times in the first three months of this year, more quarterly downloads than any other app in history, according to analytics company Sensor Tower.
via CNN
