With scary evidence of IP theft and information collection, it’s no wonder that this beloved app has quickly become a growing concern amongst both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Daily wire reports, a federal criminal investigation is underway against TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is controlled by communist China.
Bipartisan legislation was released earlier this month by U.S. lawmakers to allow the U.S. to ban the app. Biden’s administration has expressed support for the bill.
The FBI, Department of Justice Criminal Division, Fraud Section, and US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia opened a criminal investigation over TikTok’s spying on American journalists, according to Forbes.
Using the TikTok app, ByteDance employees attempted to access the location information of U.S. journalists. Prosecutors have subpoenaed ByteDance.
It was Forbes who first reported that TikTok was surveilling U.S. journalists, and later TikTok admitted they had done so.
In an internal company email obtained by Forbes, TikTok General Counsel Erich Andersen wrote that in this case individuals misappropriated their authority to access user data.
ByteDance spokesperson Jennifer Banks confirmed to the publication that spying had taken place. “We have strongly condemned the actions of the individuals found to have been involved, and they are no longer employed at ByteDance,” she said. “Our internal investigation is still ongoing, and we will cooperate with any official investigations when brought to us.”
This week, the Biden administration urged ByteDance to sell its vertical video app or face outright banning.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, composed of nine cabinet-level officials who weigh the national security implications of international investments, recently ordered ByteDance to sell its platform, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. To protect American user data and prevent access by Chinese officials, the company pledged to spend $1.5 billion.
The capabilities the app gives communist China stunned senators last week during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
During a question from Marco Rubio (R-FL), Wray stated that communist China could use TikTok to control the data of millions of users, to control the software on millions of devices, and to create narratives that pit Americans against one another.
As a result, Wray warned that not only can China use TikTok to control narratives in the U.S., but officials are unsure that we would see many of the outward signs if that were the case.
Wray stated “And I think the most fundamental piece that cuts across every one of those risks and threats that you mentioned that I think Americans need to understand is that something that’s very sacred in our country, that difference between the private sector and the public sector, that’s a line that is non-existent in the way that CCP operates,”
Recent news of China secretly stealing information from US citizens through the use of their popular app, TikTok, is scary and outrageous! Federal action is being taken as a bipartisan bill is aimed to completely ban TikTok from the US. Evidence gathered by investigation shows strong evidence of illegal spying and IP theft. This type of spyware has resulted in world powers edging closer to WW3 while innocent American citizens are caught in the crossfire. People must be made aware that this criminal probe into China’s social media application needs urgent attention, because they are exploiting people through espionage and surveillance. Everyone should be warned – stay vigilant and keep your secrets safe!
