US Senators suspect TikTok could be a national security threat

Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have written to the Intelligence Community to request a national security investigation into social media video app TikTok.

Although TikTok has been paid particular attention in the request, the duo is asking other China-based applications with a significant US presence are also given some consideration. The move could represent an expansion of the aggression towards China and strain trade-talks between the two parties further.

“We write to express our concerns about TikTok, a short-form video application, and the national security risks posed by its growing use in the United States,” the pair said in the letter to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.

“TikTok’s terms of service and privacy policies describe how it collects data from its users and their devices, including user content and communications, IP address, location-related data, device identifiers, cookies, metadata, and other sensitive personal information. While the company has stated that TikTok does not operate in China and stores US user data in the US, ByteDance is still required to adhere to the laws of China.”

The comments above pay homage to a Chinese law which requires Chinese companies to comply with requests from the Government and its intelligence agencies. While the law also states Chinese companies can refuse the request if it contradicts with the domestic laws in which the company operates, it is clear the US and others do not believe this clause holds much credibility or weight.

After being launched in 2017 by ByteDance, TikTok has proven to be a very successful additional to the social media scene. The app boasts more than 110 million downloads in the US alone and became the world’s most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store in the first half of 2018.

While this is the first-time politicians have waded into the waters, there has been criticism of TikTok from other avenues. US think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics described TikTok as a ‘Huawei-sized problem’, posing a national security threat to ‘the West’. The thinking here seems to be that the app collects location and biometric data and is unable to deny requests from the Chinese Government.

TikTok has proven to be an immense success in its short life, though the attention from security agencies in the US is an ominous sign. Alongside the shadow of doubt which will be cast on the app in the eyes of US citizens, it is not unfeasible for some sort of restrictions to be placed on the business.