FBI director Chris Wray is raising national security concerns about TikTok warning Friday that control of the popular video-sharing app is in the hands of a Chinese government that doesn't share their values.
Wray said the FBI was concerned that China had the ability to control the app's recommendation algorithm. He also asserted that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for traditional espionage operations.
Tiktok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. The TikTok statement Friday noted that ByteDance is a private company and that TikTok inc which offers the TikTok service in the united states is a U.S. company bound by U.S. laws.
Concerned about China's influence over TikTok, the Trump administration in 2020 threatened to ban the app within the U.S. and pressured ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company. U.S. officials and the company are now in talks over a possible agreement that would resolve American security concerns a process that Wray said was taking place across U.S. government agencies.
