Republican Senator Marco Rubio and House of Representatives member Mike Gallagher have called on U.S. authorities to ban the use of the Chinese-owned social network TikTok for allegedly spying on citizens.
«TikTok is a major threat to U.S. national security,» the lawmakers warned in an op-ed published in ‘The Washington Post’ newspaper, after pointing out that «Beijing could collect sensitive information from U.S. government employees.»
«Millions of Americans increasingly rely on TikTok, a Chinese application exposed to the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),» Rubio and Gallagher have indicated, after indicating that the «most alarming thing is the possibility of abuse of the algorithm» of the ‘app’ to influence the opinion of users.
In this regard, the congressmen lamented that the application is one of the most popular companies in the country, as it «gives the PCC a unique opportunity to spy on users around the world, including nearly two-thirds of American teenagers.»
«We must ban this potential spyware before it is too late, instead of encouraging its use as (U.S.) President (Joe) Biden is doing,» they have argued.
«The United States is locked in a new Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party, one that top military advisers warn could turn hot over Taiwan at any time,» the senator and the lower house member explain.
The lawmakers who signed the op-ed have added that they will introduce a bill «to ban TikTok and other companies that are essentially controlled by the CCP.»
