![]() Oberwetter declined to share with USA TODAY an exact number of monthly TikTok users in the U.S., but said that "over 100 million" people use the app each month. ![]() official said Friday.(AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) ORG XMIT: WX105 How many people use TikTok? Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China as the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the discovery of a high-altitude Chinese balloon flying over sensitive sites in the western United States, a U.S. We firmly oppose those wrong actions."įILE - An American flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Nov. government "has been over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress foreign companies. "How unsure of itself can the world’s top superpower be to fear a young people’s favorite app like that?" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. In a Tuesday press briefing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. "We hope that when it comes to addressing national security concerns about TikTok beyond government devices, Congress will explore solutions that won’t have the effect of censoring the voices of millions of Americans." What does China say? "The ban of TikTok on federal devices passed in December without any deliberation, and unfortunately that approach has served as a blueprint for other world governments," Oberwetter said in a statement sent to USA TODAY. TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said Monday that banning the app is "little more than political theater." "The Biden administration is focused on the challenge of certain countries, including China, seeking to leverage digital technologies and Americans data in ways that present unacceptable national security risks."ĭalton declined to comment on McCaul's bill and whether there should be a federal ban on the social media app. ![]() “We've been clear about our concerns about apps like TikTok," she said. The White House is taking "every step" it can within its authority to protect American data, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton said Tuesday. 15, 2020, at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. "Every day that this drags on is another day that Americans are left exposed to the unique threats posed by TikTok," he said.ĭemocratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden plays music on a phone as he arrives to speak at a Hispanic Heritage Month event, Tuesday, Sept. In 2020, Biden said that TikTok is a “matter of genuine concern.” But last month, the president indicated he's "not sure" whether a ban is the right call.įBI Director Christopher Wray testified in December the agency was concerned about Chinese officials controlling the app’s algorithm and argued the app could be used "to collect data through it on users which can be used for traditional espionage operations."įCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in December he "welcomes" a TikTok ban on federal devices. Michael McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair who introduced the bill that would make it easier for Biden to ban the app. "TikTok is the Chinese Communist Party's backdoor into American phones," Texas Republican Rep. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called TikTok “an enormous threat” in an interview last year.
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