The U.S. is “looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Secretary of Point out Mike Pompeo advised Fox Information on Monday.
His comments appear amid climbing tensions involving the U.S. and China and as scrutiny on TikTok and Chinese technology companies continues to expand.
When questioned in a Fox News job interview if the U.S. should really be hunting at banning TikTok and other Chinese social media applications, Pompeo stated: “We are getting this incredibly very seriously. We are unquestionably searching at it.”
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“We have labored on this pretty issue for a prolonged time,” he claimed.
“Whether it was the complications of acquiring Huawei technologies in your infrastructure we’ve gone all around the planet and we’re creating serious progress finding that out. We declared ZTE a hazard to American nationwide safety,” Pompeo additional, citing the two Chinese telecommunications networking companies.
“With respect to Chinese applications on peoples’ cellphones, the United States will get this just one appropriate as well.”
TikTok was not immediately available for remark late Monday.
Washington has been on a campaign from Chinese engineering companies.
Huawei in particular has been in the crosshairs. The U.S. maintains that Huawei gear could be applied for espionage by Beijing, and that consumer info could be compromised. Huawei has repeatedly denied these allegations.
But TikTok, owned by Beijing-based mostly ByteDance, has also been on the radar because last calendar year. Washington has been concerned that the platform censors content and that its details could be accessed by Beijing.
TikTok has tried out to distance alone from its Chinese mum or dad enterprise. In fact, TikTok was meant to be for the worldwide current market while ByteDance runs a separate app in China named Douyin.
The company hired former Disney executive, Kevin Mayer, to be TikTok’s CEO before this calendar year. His precedence was observed as rebuilding believe in with regulators.
But the Trump administration continue to seems skeptical of TikTok. When questioned by Fox News if People should really download the social media app, Pompeo reported: “Only if you want your personal facts in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Arjun Kharpal is a News Assistant for CNBC in London. He took on the function just after interning at the organization for a few months. Arjun has beforehand penned for the Moments, the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Mirror in London. He retains a BA in English Literature from the University of York and an MA in Newspaper Journalism from Town College, London.
