‘REALLY CAREFUL’: CIA DIRECTOR WARNS AMERICANS OF TIKTOK

Sat 17 December 2022:

William Burns, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), cautioned Americans to use TikTok with “really careful” on Friday since the Chinese-owned video-sharing network has been blocked by numerous federal institutions, including the White House.

Burns stated in an interview with PBS that he agreed with other US officials’ worries that TikTok would endanger the nation’s security.

“I think it’s a genuine concern, I think, for the US government in the sense that because the parent company of TikTok is a Chinese company, the Chinese government is able to… insist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country and also to shape the content of what goes on to TikTok as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership,” Burns said.

On being asked whether it was a good idea that some American lawmakers wanted to ban TikTok, Burns said, “Well, you know, in my role, see, this is where blessedly as an intelligence, in an intelligence role, I mean, I’m not going to offer judgments on those kind of policy or legislative decisions.”

However, the CIA director told PBS on Friday it was genuinely troubling to see what the Chinese government could do to manipulate TikTok.

US lawmakers have been cracking down on Chinese companies amid national security fears.

In the most recent step, the US Senate enacted a bill late on Wednesday that forbids federal employees from using TikTok on equipment controlled by the government. Security concerns were voiced by members of the Biden administration and by Democrats and Republicans alike.

According to a report by news agency Reuters on Thursday, the Senate took this decision after Iowa and North Dakota joined the list of American states that have outlawed the Chinese video-sharing network.

However, American citizens who use TikTok on personal or business-owned devices won’t be impacted by the bill. When asked whether President Joe Biden would support the TikTok legislation, the White House declined to respond.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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