- Top Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer wrote to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy urging him to assess potential national security risks
- 60 per cent of TikTok’s 26.5 million monthly active users in US are between 16 and 24
Topic | TikTok app
Published: 1:33am, 13 Nov, 2019
The top Democrat in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, on Tuesday released a letter he wrote to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy raising concerns about the US military’s use of the China-owned TikTok social media platform for recruiting American teenagers.
“While I recognise that the Army must adapt its recruiting techniques in order to attract young Americans to serve, I urge you to assess the potential national security risks posed by China-owned technology companies before choosing to utilise certain platforms,” Schumer wrote in the letter dated November 7.
TikTok, a video app popular with teens and 20-somethings, has grown more popular among US teenagers at a time of mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and technology transfers.
The company has stressed its independence from China but has failed to calm congressional nerves about security of the personal data of US citizens who use the platform.
About 60 per cent of TikTok’s 26.5 million monthly active users in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24, the company said this year.
“National security experts have raised concerns about TikTok’s collection and handling of user data, including user content and communications, IP addresses, location-related data, metadata, and other sensitive personal information,” Schumer wrote.
He said he was especially concerned about Chinese laws requiring domestic companies “to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party”.The inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has launched a national security review [1] of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance Technology’s US$1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly.
With TikTok under US fire, will ByteDance’s expansion plans be checked?[2]
US lawmakers have also expressed concern that the Chinese company may censor politically sensitive content.
Schumer asked the Army to answer questions regarding any intelligence consultations it has done regarding TikTok by December 6.
Global News 
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