China’s authorities might use TikTok to regulate information on tens of millions of American customers, FBI Director Christopher Wray informed a US Senate listening to on Wednesday, saying the Chinese-owned video app “screams” of safety issues.
Wray informed a Senate Intelligence Committee listening to on worldwide threats to US safety that the Chinese authorities might additionally use TikTok to regulate software program on tens of millions of units and drive narratives to divide Americans over Taiwan or different points.
“Yes, and I would make the point on that last one, in particular, that we’re not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening if it was happening,” Wray stated of issues China might feed misinformation to customers.
“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government – and it, to me, it screams out with national security concerns,” Wray stated.
The White House backed laws launched on Tuesday by a dozen senators to provide President Joe Biden’s administration new powers to ban TikTok and different foreign-based applied sciences in the event that they pose nationwide safety threats. The endorsement boosted efforts by a quantity of lawmakers to ban the favored app, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and utilized by greater than 100 million Americans.
Other high US intelligence officers together with Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone agreed on the listening to that TikTok posed a risk to US nationwide safety.
Nakasone on Tuesday expressed concern throughout Senate testimony about TikTok’s information assortment and potential to facilitate broad affect operations.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
