In this file photograph illustration TikTok emblem, is displayed on the display screen of an iPhone on a U.S flag background in Arlington, Virginia.
| Photo Credit: AFP
TikTok was dismissive of stories that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to promote their stakes in the in style video-sharing app, saying such a transfer would not assist shield nationwide safety.
The firm was responding to a report in The Wall Street Journal that mentioned the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a part of the Treasury Department, was threatening a U.S. ban on the app until its owners, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., divested.
“If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan mentioned.
“The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting, and verification, which we are already implementing.” The Journal report cited nameless “people familiar with the matter.” The Treasury Department and the White House’s National Security Council declined to remark.
Late final month, the White House gave all federal companies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all authorities units.
The Office of Management and Budget known as the steering a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some companies, together with the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, have already got restrictions in place. The White House already doesn’t enable TikTok on its units.
Congress handed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” in December as a part of a sweeping authorities funding package deal. The laws does enable for TikTok use in sure instances, together with for nationwide safety, legislation enforcement and analysis functions.
More stringent legislation
Meanwhile, lawmakers in each the House and Senate have been shifting ahead with laws that will give the Biden administration extra energy to clamp down on TikTok.
Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has been a vocal critic of the app, saying the Chinese Communist Party is utilizing it to “manipulate and monitor its users while it gobbles up Americans’ data to be used for their malign activities.” “Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone,” the Texas Republican mentioned.
TikTok stays extraordinarily in style and is utilized by two-thirds of teenagers in the U.S. But there’s growing concern that Beijing may acquire management of American consumer information that the app has obtained.
The firm has been dismissive of the ban for federal units and has famous that it’s creating safety and information privateness plans as a part of the Biden administration’s ongoing nationwide safety overview.
