Social-Media
White House says that prohibitions on TikTok will come in 'weeks, not months'
The White House has pointed at the timeline for action against TikTok, the popular social video device owned by ByteDance. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said last week that Trump's administration was "certainly looking at" blocking the app, and now Trump's Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, says a change could arrive in weeks.
There are a variety of policy officials looking at the national security risk as it relates to TikTok, WeChat & other applications that have the potential for national security leakage, especially when it relates to the collection of intelligence by a foreign adversary regarding American citizens, Meadows told reporters traveling from Atlanta to Air Force One.
I don't think there is a self-imposed timetable for change, but I know we 're looking at weeks, not months.
TikTok disputes that this is a security risk, and has taken measures to separate itself from Douyin, the Chinese edition of the app. The company appointed a new CEO, ex-Disney exec Kevin Meyer, and last week withdrew from Hong Kong after the region passed a new national security law giving the central Chinese government additional power.
TikTok is led by the American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across security, security, product and public policy across the US, the company said in response to Pompeo 's comments.
We have no higher priority than fostering a safe and stable device experience for our customers. We have never provided the Chinese government with user data, nor would we have done so if asked.
However, many US lawmakers are less than persuaded that they refer to China's national intelligence law , which requires internet companies to provide data when the government requests it.
