Chuck Schumer, Tom Cotton Call for Investigation Into Chinese-Owned TikTok App, Citing National Security Concerns
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) co-wrote a letter to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Wednesday, calling for an investigation into the Chinese-owned entertainment app TikTok.
According to the two senators, TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, poses as a “national security risk,” and could be used to influence US elections.
“We write to express our concerns about TikTok, a short-form video application, and the national security risks posed by its growing use in the United States,” they declared. “While the company has stated that TikTok does not operate in China and stores U.S. user data in the U.S., ByteDance is still required to adhere to the laws of China.”
“Questions have also been raised regarding the potential for censorship or manipulation of certain content. TikTok reportedly censors materials deemed politically sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party, including content related to the recent Hong Kong protests, as well as references to Tiananmen Square, Tibetan and Taiwanese independence, and the treatment of Uighurs,” Schumer and Cotton continued, warning, “The platform is also a potential target of foreign influence campaigns like those carried out during the 2016 election on U.S.-based social media platforms.”
“With over 110 million downloads in the U.S. alone, TikTok is a potential counterintelligence threat we cannot ignore,” the letter concluded. “Given these concerns, we ask that the Intelligence Community conduct an assessment of the national security risks posed by TikTok and other China-based content platforms operating in the U.S. and brief Congress on these findings.”
The full letter can be read online.
TikTok’s been downloaded OVER 110M TIMES in the US
It’s owned by a Beijing-based tech company
It’s required to adhere to Chinese law
That means it can be compelled to cooperate with intelligence work controlled by China’s Communist Partyhttps://t.co/qB04rAVeY3
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 24, 2019
Last week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) also took on TikTok, warning parents in an Instagram post to make sure that their children are not using it.
“Dear Parents: Do your family a favor & check to see if your kids are on TikTok. Answer is almost certainly yes,” Rubio posted. “TikTok is a Chinese owned company that is collecting all sorts of personal data on your kids & by extension your family. If you don’t want to donate personal data to China then #DeleteTikTok today.”
