US senators call for intelligence probe into app TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance
- The senators raised concerns about the video-sharing platform’s collection of user data and whether China censors content seen by US users
- They also suggested TikTok could be targeted by foreign influence campaigns
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Tom Cotton on Wednesday asked intelligence officials to investigate whether the popular Chinese-owned app TikTok poses national security risks.
In a letter to Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, the senators raised concerns about the video-sharing platform’s collection of user data and whether China censors content seen by US users. The letter also suggested TikTok could be targeted by foreign influence campaigns.
Concern is growing in the United States about security and censorship issues involving TikTok, owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, and other China-owned content platforms.
Senator Marco Rubio has asked US authorities to review allegations that the Chinese government uses TikTok for political censorship.
“With over 110 million downloads in the US alone, TikTok is a potential counterintelligence threat we cannot ignore,” wrote Schumer, the Senate’s senior Democrat, and Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas.
They urged investigators to look into the issue of TikTok’s collection of users’ location-related data and other sensitive personal information. TikTok has said US user data is stored in the United States, but the senators noted that ByteDance is governed by Chinese laws.