Can TikTok help China invade Taiwan? According to the FBI yes. The dictatorial country, which does not recognize the independence of Taiwanese territory, could use the app to “shape public opinion” in the event of a crossstrait war, the unit’s director Christopher Wray told the US Intelligence Committee on Thursday Senate Friday (8).
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The question was raised by Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who also took the opportunity to imply that TikTok poses a “significant security threat” to the US in a way the country has never faced.
The claims came a day after the head of the US National Security Agency, General Paul Nakasone, also told the Senate that TikTok “may act in a manner that threatens national security interests.”
The speeches come at a tense moment for the app in the country that appears poised to ban access to TikTok. European countries are also in the same movement.
What does the CEO himself say about TikTok helping China in this and other cases?
The Chinese social network is under pressure in the G20 democratic countries as the platform has extensive control over user data as it is a Chinese company where the government has extensive control over everything.
In the case of the USA, there is even a risk of a total ban, as the Chinese government has already done with American apps such as Google and Instagram.
On the other hand, TikTok CEO Shou Chew claims the Chinese government “never asked for data from US users.” The Chinese government also seems to be annoyed by the situation.
To allay American authorities’ concerns and avoid being banned from the country while competitors like Instagram and YouTube improve similar tools like Reels and Shorts, ByteDance, the company responsible for TikTok, is taking some measures. The first is to isolate data from US users by hosting everything on servers operated by US company Oracle.
Another investment, according to American CNN, is behindthescenes negotiations with the Biden government to allow the app to operate under new conditions in the country.