CLOCKING TIKTOK
Schumer wants Army to ax use of Chinese app
It’s not just teens who are ignoring the national security risks posed by popular social media app TikTok.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday released a letter he wrote to the US Army questioning its use of the video platform, owned by a China-based company, to connect with potential recruits.
The senior senator urged the Army to stop using the United States’ most downloaded app to attract recruits, citing its ties to China, a nation that requires companies based there “to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”
“National security experts have raised concerns about TikTok’s collection and handling of user data, including user content and communications, IP addresses, location-related data, metadata, and other sensitive personal information,” Schumer wrote in the letter dated Nov. 7, addressed to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.
“While I recognize that the Army must adapt its recruiting techniques in order to attract young Americans to serve, I urge you to assess the potential national security risks posed by China-owned technology companies before choosing to utilize certain platforms,” the Senate minority leader added.
The letter comes a week after the US government reportedly opened a national security review into TikTok over Chinese data collection concerns. Schumer and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) requested in October that intelligence officials investigate the company’s $1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly.
TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which has denied that China’s government has a say over its content or power over its data, although the Washington Post has reported that
TikTok staffers have been asked to remove content that offends Beijing.
The video app has grown increasingly popular among American teens and 20somethings at a time of mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and technology.
About 60 percent of TikTok’s 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24, the company said this year.
US lawmakers have also expressed concern that the Chinese company may censor politically sensitive content.