U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged Biden to follow through on his campaign promise to address the risks posed to American users by the Chinese App TikTok, the overseas version of Jitterbug.
“I urge the Biden Administration to stand by its concerns about Chinese Communist social media companies like TikTok, which put our personal data and national security at risk.” McCaul tweeted Jan. 23 and posted remarks Biden made at a campaign event in Minnesota last year.
At a campaign event in Minnesota on Sept. 18, 2020, Biden said he found TikTok “really concerning.” He also said that if elected president, he would have cyber experts “dig deeper” to get the “best solution” to address the risks associated with the app.
Last August, former President Trump ordered TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest from TikTo within 90 days. A month later, Trump approved in principle a partnership agreement: TikTok will be allowed to continue operating in the United States, while ByteDance will create a new company called TikTok Global, in which U.S. companies Oracle and Walmart have a stake.
The two U.S. companies are still committed to the September 2020 deal, but the partnership has not yet been formalized.
In addition to TikTok, the Trump Administration has also expressed concern about the security risks of WeChat.
In an interview with Fox’s “Mornings with Maria” in late August, former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro mentioned the importance of the U.S. banning Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat. He said, “It’s critical that this country [the U.S.] can’t use apps that are made in China, or apps that can access our data and pass it to servers in China. That data will be used to spy on, monitor and track you.”
“It will be used to steal your passwords and even in some cases to blackmail and extort you.” Navarro said this is the policy stance behind the U.S. ban on TikTok and WeChat, and that “there will be others (Chinese apps regulated) because the Chinese Communist Party is basically attempting to gain technology and influence on a global scale. This country (the U.S.), this president, will not tolerate that.”
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