But a TikTok executive on Sunday in a rare interview with CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” said there are no security issues related to the highly successful app.
The short format video app is the lowest in the world, surpassing Instagram with 3.5 billion downloads. Users spend an average of at least 46 minutes a day on the app, which makes it outperform its competition.
On the surface, TikTok is certainly cheerful, and allows users to share content, including dance videos and cooking tutorials. But critics think something more sinister can be incorporated into his model, claiming that his power comes from his data collection and algorithms.
TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which means the company is essentially under the control of the Chinese government, said Brian Stelter, CNN’s chief media correspondent.
Bytedance has pledged to host U.S. data on U.S. servers to stifle concerns. But an explosive Buzzfeed News report released two weeks ago revealed that, according to leaked audio from internal meetings, Chinese engineers were able to repeatedly access U.S. user data.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Stelter lawmakers had asked TikTok directly if Beijing was accessing any data. Instead of being honest, he said, the company has repeatedly said that all US user data is stored in the US.
“And that’s not just a national security issue, but it seems to me a violation of the terms of the app store,” Carr said. He has written a letter to Google and Apple asking them to rip TikTok out of their app stores, giving them until July 8 to respond.
The FCC has no jurisdiction over social media, Stelter noted. But Carr said the FCC has developed an understanding of how the Chinese government can grab data and infiltrate communications.
The claims that TikTok is compiling the browser’s history are “simply false,” Michael Beckerman, America’s head of public policy, told TikTok. He also said that while the app scans your face for filters, it doesn’t use it to identify people.
Stelter asked if any members of the Chinese Communist Party have seen data from non-public TikTok users. “The answer is that we have never shared information with the Chinese government, nor would we,” Beckerman said, adding that they have U.S.-based security teams.
“TikTok engineers, the people who are developing this tool, creating this tool, are in debt to China and is that a threat to the US?” Stelter asked again.
“No, absolutely not. TikTok is not a security threat,” Beckerman said, adding that TikTok is willing to be transparent and work with stakeholders.
The Buzzfeed report also said there were concerns that China might use TikTok to “influence the commercial, cultural, or political behavior of Americans.”
“Yeah, I just don’t see it,” Beckerman said, saying the videos he sees are all from American creators.
Beckerman said the app does not allow political announcements and that it is primarily an entertainment platform. Stelter noted research by The Wall Street Journal that revealed that users of “rabbits” talk about topics like eating disorders. “(Harmful content) is a problem for the Internet as a whole,” Beckerman said.
“It’s something we’ve worked very hard to remove from our platform anything that is dangerous or harmful, it violates the guidelines of our community.”