U.S. Senator Calls on Apple and Google to Ban TikTok From App Stores

[MacRumors]

United States Senator Michael Bennet today penned a letter to the chief executives of Apple and Google demanding that they ban Chinese-owned TikTok from their app stores on national security grounds (via The New York Times).

Bennet, a Democrat of Colorado and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent the letter to Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai, saying that no company subject to "Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people or curate content to nearly a third of our population."

"TikTok's vast influence and aggressive data collection pose a specific threat to US national security because of its parent company's obligations under Chinese law," wrote Bennet. "Article 7 of China's National Intelligence Law decrees that 'any organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work.' Article 14 provides Chinese state security agencies the authority to demand cooperation from companies like ByteDance, while Articles 16 and 17 allow intelligence agents to access relevant materials and files and make use of its communication tools and facilities."

Bennet goes on to cite a BuzzFeed News report from June last year that suggested TikTok engineers in China had access to the data of U.S. users between September 2021 and January 2022. "Everything is seen in China," said one TikTok employee in recordings reviewed by BuzzFeed, with the recordings also referencing a "Master Admin" engineer in China who "has access to everything."

Bennet's letter concludes: "Given these grave and growing concerns, I ask that you remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately."

TikTok has been in the cross-hairs of U.S. regulators for years now, going back to the Trump administration's failed attempt to bar the app from U.S. app stores in September 2020. However, concerns over the app have heightened in the last few weeks after both Republicans and Democrats called for officials to impose stricter data collection restrictions or ban the app from the U.S. entirely.

For its part, TikTok's parent company ByteDance submitted a plan in August detailing how it plans to prevent the Chinese government from having access to data on U.S. users, and how it will offer the U.S. government oversight of the platform. The Biden administration has yet to respond to the company's plan.

In the meantime, at least 27 state governments have passed full or partial bans on the app, while a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress in December would ban the app for everyone in the United States. The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote on the bill this month.

Senator Bennet's full letter to Apple and Google can be read on Scribd.

Article Link: U.S. Senator Calls on Apple and Google to Ban TikTok From App Stores

 

[Danfango]

Good. I'm fed up of my daughter showing me the **** my ex wife posts on it.

 

[Matsamoto]

Time will tell I quess.

Tick-tock tick-tock...😉

 

[Wildkraut]

Good. I'm fed up of my daughter showing me the **** my ex wife posts on it.

Can't you block or depart from the platform?

 

[contacos]

If Huawei can be banned in the US over privacy concerns, so should this App

 

[krspkbl]

If you're on Android it's not a problem because you can just side load it. When Apple get forced to allow side loading then iOS users can do the same.

I know TikTok is bad but if they can ban TikTok then what's next? Having Apple/Google or a Government tell you what you can and can't download shouldn't be allowed.

Some people like to act like sideloading is evil and dangerous. It gives you freedom of choice.

Can't you block or depart from the platform?

That'd require too much effort it seems.

 

[foobarbaz]

no company subject to "Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people

Cue US social networks awkwardly looking at EU …

 

[T Coma]

“I ask that you remove…” is a demand??

 

[dmr727]

Good. I'm fed up of my daughter showing me the **** my ex wife posts on it.

That's the best friggin' reason I've heard to ban TikTok yet! 😂

 

[Pilot Jones]

I believe since September 1, 2021, it has been a law in China that any Chinese entity processing data, in big or small amounts, is perpetually obliged to record and present that information to whatever extent the CCP government deems necessary.

Given that fact, why on earth was TikTok even initially allowed to proliferate the way it did, I will never understand. The damage is long done and that ship has already sailed.

 

[MBAir2010]

wasn't this banned in that USA nation on planet earth years ago?
must have been a good reason why!

 

[siri_3005]

I never used TikTok so I don't care lol

 

[DMG35]

I don't know, Google and Facebook steal users data all day every day and none of these Senators seem to mind. This seems more like big tech lobbying these senators because of the ad revenue that Tik Tok has taken from them. No matter what they try they can't copy or make anything as popular as Tik Tok so they want it shut down.

 

[sam_dean]

TikTok in China pushes videos that inspire young people to take up STEM skills and careers. May even include nationalistic videos too.

Tiktok outside of China... well they promote people becoming entertainers of both the non-adult and adult variety.

 

[willyx]

But Apple is subject to the Chinese Communist Party dictates too

 

[winxmac]

TikTok and other short form video app should be removed... Yes, YouTube now have Shorts, however it is way more useful than TikTok, Instagram Reel, Facebook Reel, and similar apps...

Now whether or not TikTok sends data to China is for the security experts to determine and verify...

 

[sam_dean]

But Apple is subject to the Chinese Communist Party dictates too

Within their lawful territory. Hence no unsanctioned Meta or Alphabet apps in the China App Store.

 

[Akrapovic]

I feel it's a bit odd that we will discuss banning TikTok because it's likely giving data to China, but we know 100% for certain, proven in court, that Facebook is selling even more data to third party companies, who are operating with China, and nobody is calling out for Facebook and Instagram to be banned.

Is it only bad when China funnels data to China? It's not bad when Americans funnel data to China via some wealthy companies?

The other issue is we sit and call China a terrible country because they ban apps from operating in it. So in response to this, we're going to ban apps from operating within our countries. Man, it doesn't look good when you write it down, does it?

 

[cupcakes2000]

Can't you block or depart from the platform?

That'd require too much effort it seems.

In his very clear statement, he is talking about his daughter showing him his ex-wife on her own tiktok, ie: it’s not his account.

 

[T Coma]

So the Senate Intelligence Committee is using BuzzFeed as a source.

I weep for the republic.

 

[Sciomar]

Full support, it is another app that has eroded society and we would be better off without it.

 

[Matsamoto]

Time will tell I quess.

Tick-tock tick-tock...😉

Edit: I was trying to make a pun.
But apparently that didn't work out🙂

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Good! We are better off without it. I feel like the App is spying on us and collecting the data on another level.

TikTok should be banned. Honestly, I don’t think it brings anything to this world. We waste so much time just on scrolling.

 

[jaknudsen]

Norway's minister of justice is currently getting flak for having TikTok installed on her work phone.

 

[PowerButton]

If you're on Android it's not a problem because you can just side load it. When Apple get forced to allow side loading then iOS users can do the same.

I know TikTok is bad but if they can ban TikTok then what's next? Having Apple/Google or a Government tell you what you can and can't download shouldn't be allowed.

Some people like to act like sideloading is evil and dangerous. It gives you freedom of choice.


That'd require too much effort it seems.

It tend to share your sentiment; there’s a fine line in protection vs freedom.
While China may be able to access high school kid’s drama, it sets a dangerous precedent when a state starts banning things.