During a recent briefing, Democratic Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill raised concerns about the potential for China to use TikTok as a tool for spying on Americans. The parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, is required under a 2017 security law to report to the Chinese Communist Party and provide information upon request. This has raised red flags about the security and privacy implications of using the popular social media platform.
Reports have surfaced indicating that journalists have had their apps geolocated by the Chinese Communist Party in order to identify whistleblowers and sources. Additionally, there have been instances where individuals, such as a woman from New Jersey, were banned from TikTok for attempting to shed light on the Uyghur genocide. These incidents suggest that TikTok may be censoring content and manipulating information to align with the interests of the Chinese government.
