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FBI 'extremely concerned' that TikTok could pose threat to US - Fact Check Team
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November 18, 2022
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1:51Now PlayingChristopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said earlier this week that he is “extremely concerned” about TikTok and its operations in the U.S.
The National Desk’s Fact Check Team is looking into why the FBI is concerned about TikTok and why the agency believes it could pose a threat.
Wray told members of the House Homeland Security Committee that there are national security concerns like the possibility that the Chinese government could use TikTok to collect user data or to control what posts are more visible or even to control the software on devices in general.
The Chinese government is a factor here because it controls a stake in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.The stake is pretty small — only 1% — but the government has more influence than you’d think.
The company also runs an app called Douyin, which is the Chinese equivalent of TikTok and the Chinese government now controls one of the three seats on its board.
Wray also noted that Chinese companies are required to essentially do whatever the Chinese government wants in terms of sharing information.
An analysis from the University of Toronto comparing TikTok and the Chinese version, Douyin found that neither of the apps show malicious behavior like malware does but Douyin has features that raise privacy and security concerns, like censorship and it collects more personal data than TikTok, such as identifying your device’s location. There are also automatic updates that allow Douyin to execute any code pushed by its servers.
There is also a strong possibility that the Chinese government does interfere. According to the study, the app may manipulate content to present it in a way that is favorable to the Chinese government
When it comes to TikTok, FBI officials say there is a possibility that the Chinese government could do things like use the platform to control data collection on users and this concern isn’t new.
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