TikTok, a Chinese social media network, is a “national security risk” for the US, according to FBI Director Chris Wray on Friday.
Wray expressed concern that the Beijing government could utilize the information gathered through TikTok on users for “conventional espionage activities” while speaking at a gathering at the University of Michigan.
“We, the FBI, are concerned about the app’s national security (TikTok). The Chinese government has influence of its parent firm. They have the chance to use the software in ways that, in my opinion, should worry us “said he.
As a result, China will be able to “manage the recommendation algorithm, allowing them to change the information, if they choose, to use it for influence operations,” the author continued.
He continued, “All of these things are under the control of a government that does not share our beliefs and whose goals are substantially different from those of the United States. That ought to worry us.”
The FBI issued a warning on TikTok data collection last month, saying that the Beijing government might use it “maliciously.”
In response, TikTok stated that it does not keep data on US users in China, where the legislation empowers the government to compel businesses to turn up internal data.