Members of the Federal Communications Commission have asked Google and Apple to remove TikTok from the app store, fearing that a popular Chinese-owned video app could send US data back to Beijing. ..
In a letter to the company released Tuesday, Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr said, “TikTok’s behavioral patterns and misrepresentations that Beijing people must access sensitive U.S. user data.” He said he believed he violated Google’s standards. It will be taken out of the app store.
Mr. Kerr’s demands are unlikely to gain momentum, as the FCC does not regulate the app store and the committee’s agenda is set primarily by the Democratic chairman. But it shows continued pressure from Washington officials on Chinese tech companies.
Policy makers have long been worried that TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could release its data to the Chinese government. Former President Donald J. Trump tried to force ByteDance to sell the app in 2020. The Biden administration has considered other steps to keep US data away from China.
TikTok claims that it has taken steps to prevent Chinese employees from accessing the data. Shortly before a recent news report reveals that it’s struggling to do so, it routes all data from US users through a server controlled by US cloud computing company Oracle. Said that.
TikTok and FCC did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Kerr said in a letter that he didn’t think it would make a difference.
“TikTok has long claimed that US user data is stored on US servers, but those representations did not provide protection for data accessed from Beijing,” he writes. I am. “Sure, TikTok’s statement that’100% of US user traffic is routed to Oracle’does nothing about where that data can be accessed. “
