Carr can’t single-handedly force them to ban TikTok, as the FCC doesn’t regulate app stores. But the request nonetheless underscores the research that the leading tech companies continue to draw on powerful regulators in both parties and marks yet another chapter in TikTok’s complicated dance with the US government.
Carr, one of three Trump-appointed FCC commissioners still in office, referred to a recent BuzzFeed News report that revealed that Beijing-based employees of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, had repeatedly been given access to private information. about US users, despite assurances to the contrary. He stressed that TikTok is far from just a funny video app for young people, calling that aspect of his business “sheep clothing” that disguises an advanced mass surveillance tool.
“It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk because its extensive data is combined with Beijing’s seemingly uncontrolled access to that data,” Carr wrote. “But it’s clear that TikTok’s pattern of behavior and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that individuals in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data… it violates the policy of both companies requiring each app to abide by it as a condition of remaining. . available in your app stores.”
TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter specifically declined to speak on Carr’s letter, instead pointing to previous statements indicating the company “would be happy to engage with lawmakers to set the record straight” regarding the BuzzFeed report. .
“Recent reporting by BuzzFeed shows that TikTok is doing exactly what it said it would: addressing concerns about access to US user data by employees outside the US. and access to data,” Oberwetter wrote in an emailed statement.
Spokespersons for Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment on whether or not to remove the app.
TikTok has become extremely popular in recent years by allowing users to create short videos, customize them with music and visual effects, stream live and interact with others, all with the touch of a smartphone. Its features and business model are similar to Facebook’s Instagram. Users can watch, post and use TikTok videos for free, while the company monetizes its ads.
But its data security practices and ownership have long attracted the attention of regulators and conservative policymakers. Critics of the app are concerned that millions of its users could have their privacy invaded by the Chinese Communist Party – an entity with international ambitions known to use advanced technological tools to monitor and suppress its own population.
It was identified as a potential national security threat in 2019 when US officials approached ByteDance with their concerns. That culminated in a formal national security investigation led by the Commerce Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government agency charged with vetting foreign investments based on their implications for national security.
In 2020, President Donald Trump signed a few executive orders intended to ban TikTok in the United States. The company’s executives reassured his government that all U.S. data it held was stored in the United States and backed up in Singapore, The Washington Post reported in August 2020. ByteDance later struck a deal putting TikTok under its ownership in the United States. States can continue to operate. , provided it works with a US-based database provider. The ban was successfully challenged later that year by a group of TikTok content creators, who were banned from allowing it to take effect.
It later struck a deal with database software giant Oracle to store its user data on that company’s cloud-based computer systems.
“We are pleased to now direct 100% of US user traffic to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and we continue to work on additional safeguards for US data to provide greater peace of mind for our community,” Oberwetter wrote in an email.
The current administration has charted a different course on technical regulation than its predecessor, offering Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel as chair. But President Biden’s other nominee, Gigi Sohn, has been blocked by Congressional Republicans. That means the FCC, which traditionally has five commissioners, is headed by three Trump appointees under a Democratic chairman. Carr’s letter to Apple and Google was not signed by any of the other commissioners.
The Biden administration lifted its predecessor’s TikTok ban in June 2021 and replaced it with a new process to investigate whether these types of apps pose a threat. But officials stressed their commitment to protecting US citizens’ data from foreign surveillance, and reserve the right to take further action.
“The Biden administration is committed to promoting an open, interoperable, reliable and secure internet; protecting human rights online and offline; and supporting a vibrant global digital economy,” the government said in a fact sheet. “Certain countries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), do not share these values and seek to use digital technologies and U.S. data in ways that pose unacceptable national security risks while promoting authoritarian controls and interests.”
Republican lawmakers are pushing for additional scrutiny. On Monday, nine GOP senators wrote to TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew asking for answers to a series of questions about the company’s data privacy practices and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
In particular, they objected to statements, reported in the BuzzFeed article, in which a member of TikTok’s trust and security department claimed that “everything is seen in China” and stated that a Beijing-based engineer “had access to everything”. Those statements seemed to contradict what TikTok’s head of public policy told the Senate Commerce Committee late last year.
“We are deeply concerned that in light of these reports, the TikTok representative has not provided truthful or candid answers to the Senate Commerce Committee,” the senators wrote.
Tony Romm and Cat Zakrzewski contributed to this report.