‘COUNTERINTELLIGENCE THREAT’

TikTok Raises National Security Concerns in Congress

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) asked for a federal review of the Chinese-owned social-media app.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Wednesday asked U.S. intelligence officials to review whether the Chinese-owned social-media app TikTok poses “national security risks.” In a letter to Joseph Maguire, the director of national intelligence, the congressmen questioned whether censorship stipulations by the Chinese government may be limiting what U.S. users see on the app and raised questions about its data-collection. “With over 110 million downloads in the U.S. alone, TikTok is a potential counterintelligence threat we cannot ignore,” Schumer and Cotton wrote. “Given these concerns, we ask that the Intelligence Community conduct an assessment of the national security risks posed by TikTok and other China-based content platforms operating in the U.S. and brief Congress on these findings.”