TikTok has been dealt with another major hit in the US. Democratic senator Michael Bennet from Colorado has joined calls for a nationwide ban of the popular video-based social media app. He recently wrote to Apple and Google CEOs demanding the immediate removal of the app from their respective app stores. Bennet labeled TikTok as an “unacceptable threat” to the national security of the US because of its Chinese origin.
In his letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Bennet said TikTok poses a “unique concern” than other social media apps because of Chinese laws. According to him, the app’s Chinese owner ByteDance must oblige to “support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work” as and when asked by the government. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could force the Beijing-based company to surrender sensitive data of American TikTok users and weaponize that data against the US.
Bennet added that a company under CCP dictates shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate extensive data on Americans. As such, TikTok should not exist on the Apple App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android. This would restrict downloads and the use of the app. “Given these grave and growing concerns, I ask that you remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately,” the senator wrote to Cook and Pichai (via).
TikTok is having a tough time in the US lately
With over 100 million monthly active users, TikTok is the third-most popular social media app in the US. Nearly 36 percent of Americans over age 12 use the app. That figure for the age group 12-34 goes up to 61 percent. Americans spend an average of 80 minutes on the app every day, more than Facebook and Instagram combined.
However, TikTok is having a tough time in the US lately. Not because users are leaving the platform, but because of mounting congressional actions. Over the past couple of months or so, at least 27 US states have announced bans on the app from state-owned devices citing security risks. The social media app is also banned from the US government’s federal devices, including phones and computers.
But TikTok is still available to the American public. And Bennet says that’s a serious threat to the country’s national security. The company has been caught inappropriately collecting data from users. It also recently admitted to illegally tracking some US-based journalists. There have been reports of TikTok disseminating pro-China propaganda to Americans by secretly pushing hand-picked videos.
TikTok has been trying to alleviate the security concerns of the US government by moving its base out of China to Singapore. It has also moved its servers for American users to US-based Oracle servers. But those measures have done little to resurrect its worsening image in the US. Instead, the pressure is mounting on it from every corner. The TikTok CEO will testify before the US House of Representatives next month. The company’s fate may be decided after that testimony. We will keep you posted.
2023-02-03 15:06:55