Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has written a letter to the CEO's of Apple and Alphabet (Google's parent company), calling for the removal of TikTok from their app stores due to national security concerns. Bennet argues that no company subject to Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate extensive data on Americans or curate content for almost a third of the population.
TikTok, owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance, has come under scrutiny over its data practices and whether it is transmitting information about American users to the Chinese authorities. Bennet's call to action comes amidst bipartisan pressure on the company, following criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its data security and Chinese media laws.
TikTok submitted a plan in August detailing how it will prevent the Chinese government from accessing user data and offering U.S. government oversight of the platform. However, the Biden administration has yet to respond to the proposal.
Spokeswoman for TikTok, Brooke Oberwetter, claims the letter relies on "misleading reporting" about the company and its data security controls, and ignores its investment in Project Texas to provide additional security to its community. Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
Several states, led by Democratic governors, have banned TikTok in recent months, with a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress to ban the app for all Americans. Some college campuses and cities have also adopted their own bans, expressing concerns over TikTok's content recommendation system and Chinese media laws that allow the government to secretly demand data.
TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, has agreed to appear before a House committee in March to address any security concerns raised at the federal and state level.
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