President Trump said Wednesday that the United States is considering banning the TikTok social media application amid fears that China may use it to spy on Americans.
“We are looking at TikTok, we are thinking of making a decision,” he told reporters in South Lawn before leaving the White House for a day trip to Texas.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was with Trump and addressed journalists, said that TikTok is being examined by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews the agreements of foreign buyers for possible security risks. national.
President Trump (center) told reporters on Wednesday that the United States is “watching” the ban on TikTok, a Chinese social media application. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (left) said the application is being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
TikTok faces regulatory challenges worldwide and a possible US government ban on suspicions that Beijing could compel its Chinese owner to hand over user data. Chinese President Xi Jinping is photographed in May
The president made the comments on TikTok when he left the White House on Wednesday for a day trip to Texas. Mnuchin informed reporters that he would have a recommendation to the president this week on how to handle the China-based app.
Mnuchin said he would make a recommendation to Trump this week.
The comments come after Joe Biden’s presidential campaign banned employees from using the Chinese video-sharing app, citing security and privacy concerns.
In a memo Monday, Biden general counsel Dana Remus ordered staff members to remove TikTok from their personal and work phones, and to “refrain from downloading and using TikTok,” according to Bloomberg.
The memo also prohibits staff from trading individual stocks without the approval of the campaign’s general counsel, an unusual step for a presidential campaign.
TikTok faces regulatory challenges worldwide and a possible US government ban on suspicions that Beijing could compel its Chinese owner to hand over user data.
The Senate is slated to vote on a bill that would ban the use of TikTok on all government-issued devices.
The “No TikTok Law on Government Devices,” sponsored by Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, was unanimously approved by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign has banned employees from using the Chinese TikTok video-sharing app, citing security and privacy concerns
Companies, including Wells Fargo, and government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, have already instructed their employees to remove TikTok from their work phones.
The huge popularity of TikTok among American teens has drawn scrutiny from American regulators and lawmakers who fear their personal information may fall into the hands of government officials in Beijing.
TikTok, which was originally used to create short dance, lip sync, comedy, and talent videos, said last year that about 60 percent of its 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24.
Under a Chinese law introduced in 2017, companies have an obligation to support and cooperate in the country’s national intelligence work.
The huge popularity of TikTok among American teens has drawn scrutiny from American regulators and lawmakers who fear their personal information may fall into the hands of government officials in Beijing.
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to ban federal employees from downloading the app on government-issued devices as part of a $ 741 billion defense policy bill.
Lawmakers voted 336-71 to approve the proposal, offered by Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado.
With passage in the Democrat-controlled House and passage of the Republican-led Senate Committee, the ban could soon become law in the United States.
Senior Trump administration officials have also said they were considering a broader ban on TikTok and other China-linked apps, and that the action may be imminent.
For example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said that Americans should be cautious when using the app.
TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza said the company’s growing American team has no higher priority than promoting a secure application experience that protects users’ privacy.
“Millions of American families use TikTok for entertainment and creative expression, which we recognize is not what federal government devices are for,” he said.
Later Wednesday in Washington, the heads of the US-based tech companies will participate in a House hearing through Zoom. Participants will include Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook, Tim Cook from Apple, Jeff Bezos from Amazon and Sundar Pichai from Google.
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