Senators call for public disclosure of information about TikTok and ByteDance
Lawmakers who have attended secret briefings on the program are now demanding that intelligence officials declassify details related to social media giant TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance.
After the senators receive classified information about the program, they ask the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to disclose this information to the public. They are very concerned about the possible threats to national security that this app could pose. The senators believe that it is important to disclose these details to the public, especially to TikTok users, so that they can understand the threats to the state.
The Axios report notes how one lawmaker expressed concern that TikTok could spy on the microphone on users’ devices and track keystrokes and determine the actions of smartphone owners in other applications.
In addition, it is important to note that TikTok has long denied accusations that its ties to its parent company, ByteDance, could allow the Chinese government to interfere with its operations or even spy on American users. So far, no public evidence has been released that TikTok has ever been used for such purposes.
