FBI SAYS CHINESE APPS LIKE TIKTOK CAN BE USED FOR ESPIONAGE

Sat 03 December 2022:

Christopher Wray, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has issued a warning over Chinese apps like Tik-Tok that are posing a threat to national security. He said that the Chinese government, which controls the popular video sharing app, does not uphold “our values.” TikTok and other similar apps can be used for espionage, according to Wray.

In America, TikTok is one of the most widely used platforms for sharing short videos. Wray rang the alarm when he was speaking at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Wray expressed FBI’s concerns about China’s ability to control the app’s recommendation algorithm. He said the algorithm allows the Chinese company to manipulate content. He added that this strategy can be used for traditional espionage.

“All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States. That should concern us,” he said.

Wray had echoed similar sentiments in front of US lawmakers during a congressional appearance last month. He was asked by the lawmakers about the app’s ability to collect data from Americans and its other functionalities

“China’s vast hacking programme is the world’s largest, and they have stolen more Americans’ personal and business data than every other nation combined,” he had told the lawmakers.

Wray said the FBI is also concerned about Chinese government’s ‘talent programmes’ that at times pay American professors through secret relationships. “The Chinese government, and the Chinese Communist Party, are engaged in an international talent war to try to leverage and steal intellectual property and sensitive research and data from countries all over the world and so it’s our responsibility to protect the information.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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