Sen. Marco Rubio is urging CIA Director William Burns to reject the possible plan for the agency to get on TikTok.
Rubio, a Republican representing Florida, sent a letter to the CIA chief on Thursday, a day after there were reports that the public relations team was considering joining TikTok despite its ties to China’s Communist Party.
SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN KABUL SUICIDE BOMBING POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED PURPLE HEARTS
“The Intelligence Community has been clear that TikTok, and other Chinese- owned apps, pose significant security risks to Americans and their personal data,” he said in the letter. “As such, I urge you to commit that the CIA will not join TikTok, or any other social media platform that poses a serious threat to U.S. national security as well as to Americans’ user data and privacy.”
Shou Zi Chew is the CFO of Beijing-based ByteDance, which owns TikTok, and he simultaneously serves as the chief executive officer for the social media platform used by millions of Americans. The Trump administration labeled TikTok a national security threat due to concerns that the app could be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to obtain U.S. user data illicitly.
“With TikTok, obviously, there’s the Chinese risk,” a spokesperson told Politico, adding that joining the app that’s dominated by Gen-Z is a possibility, though that spokesperson later clarified, “We currently have no plans to join.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We cannot pretend that TikTok and other Chinese-owned companies are not beholden to the CCP,” Rubio added. “Both China’s Counterespionage Law and Cybersecurity Law grant PRC intelligence officials the right to enter privately-owned commercial facilities, examine private records, investigate and question personnel, and access or even seize communications equipment owned by companies or individuals.”
