FBI Director Christopher Wray told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday that he is «extremely concerned» about the activities of Chinese company TikTok in the United States.
«We have national security concerns from the FBI about TikTok,» Wray has told members of the House Homeland Security Committee at a hearing on global threats.
These concerns include the possibility that the Chinese government could use the social network to control the data collection of millions of users, as well as control the algorithm for «use in influence operations if they so desired.»
«Or to control the software on millions of devices, which gives you the opportunity to technically compromise personal devices,» the FBI director has explained, as picked up by CNBC.
These statements by Wray add to that of other government officials who have positioned themselves in favor of banning the use of the application in the country because of China’s alleged ability to manipulate personal data.
However, the Chinese company has assured that it does not store U.S. user data in China, despite the fact that the laws of the Asian giant allow the Executive to force companies to hand over internal information.
For this very reason, Wray has indicated that this law alone is «plenty of reason in itself to be extremely concerned».
