Trump administration action on risks posed by TikTok likely ‘in weeks’: official

ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – The administration of President Donald Trump is studying the national security risks of social media applications, including TikTok and WeChat, with actions to address the projected problem in the coming weeks, the Wednesday a White House official.

“There are a number of … administration officials who are analyzing national security risk in relation to TikTok, WeChat and other applications that have the potential for national security exposure, specifically when it comes to information gathering. about US citizens by a foreign adversary, “White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters en route to Washington from Georgia.

“I don’t know if there is a self-imposed deadline in terms of action, but I would say that we are seeing weeks, not months,” he added.

TikTok defended its security practices in a statement, saying: “We are fully committed to protecting the privacy and security of our users.

“TikTok has an American CEO, a Director of Information Security with decades of military and police experience in the United States, and a growing American team that works diligently to develop a world-class security infrastructure. TikTok US user data is stored in Virginia and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access. These are the facts, “said the statement.

WeChat owner Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The comments come as TikTok, a popular short video sharing app owned by Beijing ByteDance Technology Co, is increasingly targeted by the Trump administration as ties between the US and China are cracked by the pandemic. of coronavirus and the Beijing movement to curb freedoms in Hong Kong.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States “was certainly considering” banning Chinese social media applications, including TikTok, but offered no further details.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that the administration was evaluating actions against Chinese social media services like TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president broad powers to penalize companies in response to threats. extraordinary, citing people familiar with the matter.

But the administration was already investigating the company, after lawmakers called for an investigation into concerns that it may be censoring politically sensitive content and not securely storing personal data.

Reuters reported last November that a powerful US government committee known as CFIUS had launched a national security review of Bytedance’s acquisition of social media app Musical.ly for $ 1 billion.

Meadows offered few details on the mechanisms under consideration to respond to any threat posed by TikTok, but noted that the CFIUS review was perhaps on a parallel leg.

WeChat, a chat application owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), a Chinese gaming and social media group, has received less scrutiny in Washington.