Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo says the United States Government was working on banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok.
He stated this in an interview with Fox News on Monday night.
This follows national security concerns over TikTok’s handling of user data with Congress expressing worry over Chinese laws that required domestic companies “to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”
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TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. However, it is not available in China.
It has continued to emphasize its independence from the Communist government as it seeks to shed focus on its Chinese roots and appeal to a global audience.
Speaking on a possible ban on Chinese social media in the US, Pompeo said, “I don’t want to get out in front of the President (Donald Trump), but it’s something we’re looking at.”
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Pompeo’s remarks also come amid increasing U.S.-China tensions over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, China’s actions in Hong Kong and a nearly two-year trade war.