Lawmaker asks Trump to restrict Tiktok app
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Holmes County Rep. Bob Gibbs has joined calls for President Donald Trump to restrict the Chinese video sharing app Tiktok on the grounds that China could use it for espionage against the United States.
Gibbs, of Lakeville, and two dozen other Republican members of Congress sent Trump a letter last week that said Tiktok’s data collection practices and Chinese laws that require all companies that operate in China to share user data with Chinese Communist Party authorities “present a very real threat to U.S. national security.”
The letter noted that India last month banned 60 Chinese-affiliated mobile apps, including Tiktok, from operating within its borders and maintained Tiktok censors user content to advance communist China’s foreign policy aims and disseminating state propaganda.
“It is clear that the United States should not trust Tiktok or any other Chinese-affiliated social media websites or apps to protect Americans’ data, privacy or security,” their letter said.
Trump’s re-election campaign has run social media ads that claim the app is spying on users.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week that several administration officials are “looking at the national security risk as it relates to Tiktok, Wechat and other apps that have the potential for national security exposure, specifically as it relates to the gathering of information on American
citizens by a foreign adversary.”
“I don’t think there’s any self imposed deadline for action, but I think we are looking at weeks, not months,” Meadows said.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said he believes Tiktok will pull out of its Chinese holding company “and operate as an independent American company.”
“That’s a much better solution than banning or pushing away,” Kudlow said. “The servers will be here.”
Tiktok says it protects user data, and is addressing concerns by creating a centralized global security office, headquartered in the United States and deployed to all markets it serves.
“In the coming months, we’ll announce more partnerships with security experts and regulators to ensure our community can trust that their data and privacy are protected,” said a statement from the company.
Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank issued a statement that said the U.S. government shouldn’t ban Tiktok because it is owned by a Chinese company. He said the U.S. government should continue to push for better cybersecurity, effective regulatory enforcement, rule-based global data governance and digital free trades.
“Tiktok has stated clearly and unambiguously that it has not and will not provide U.S. user data to the Chinese government. If the U.S. government has evidence to the contrary, it should share this information with lawmakers and the public,” Castro said. “Similarly, if the app is not complying with U.S. data privacy or other laws, regulators should hold it accountable for any violations.”