Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, DC on June 10, 2020.
Andrew Harnik | Pool via Reuters
The United States is “analyzing” the ban on TikTok and other Chinese social media applications, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Monday.
His comments come amid mounting tensions between the US and China, and scrutiny over TikTok and Chinese tech companies continues to grow.
When asked in a Fox News interview if the US should consider banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Pompeo said, “We are taking this very seriously. We are certainly looking at it.”
“We have worked on this issue for a long time,” he said.
“Whether because of the problems of having Huawei technology in its infrastructure, we have traveled the world and are making real progress to achieve it. We declare that ZTE is a danger to American national security,” added Pompeo, citing the two Chinese. . telecommunications network companies.
“With respect to Chinese applications on people’s cell phones, the United States will also.”
TikTok was not immediately available for comment when CNBC contacted him.
Washington has been in a campaign against Chinese tech companies.
Huawei in particular has been targeted. The United States argues that Beijing could use Huawei equipment for espionage and that user data could be compromised. Huawei has repeatedly denied those allegations.
But TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has also been on the radar since last year. Washington is concerned that the platform will censor content and that Beijing can access its data.
TikTok has tried to distance itself from its Chinese parent company. In fact, TikTok was meant to be for the international market, while ByteDance runs a separate app in China called Douyin.
The company hired former Disney executive Kevin Mayer to be the CEO of TikTok earlier this year. Its priority was seen as rebuilding trust with regulators.
But the Trump administration still seems skeptical of TikTok. When asked by Fox News whether Americans should download the social media application, Pompeo said: “Only if you want your private information to be in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
TikTok previously said that US user data is stored in the United States, with a backup in Singapore. The company also said that its data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of its data is subject to Chinese law.
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