After India, will TikTok be banned in the US too? Google-Apple got order to remove from store.
TikTok is a popular video app, but its Chinese connection remains a problem for it. The parent company of this app is Beijing-based ByteDance. TikTok was banned in India along with 58 other apps in June 2020 due to security concerns and now the USA has also decided to remove it.
United States Federal Communications Commission (US-FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr said he has sent letters to Apple and Google to remove them from their app stores. Let us know this matter in detail.
Why US-FCC commissioner wants TikTok banned
Taking a jibe at TikTok, Brendan Carr said, “This app is not just a video app. It’s just sheepskin. This app harvests sensitive data which, according to reports, is being accessed in Beijing.” It further says:
“At its core, TikTok serves as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests vast amounts of personal and sensitive data.”
Carr said that Apple and Google should remove the app because of its secret data practices. He has also shared the letters sent to both the companies through tweet. You can see them in the tweet below.
Carr’s letter is dated June 24 on US-FCC letterhead. They have told Apple and Google that if these two companies do not remove TikTok from their stores, then they will have to respond by July 8.
In this statement, both companies must explain their conclusion that “the access of personal and sensitive data of US users by individuals located in Beijing, including TikTok’s deceptive representations and patterns of conduct, does not violate any App Store policy.” “
Carr cited a report in BuzzFeed News in the letter. It said that ByteDance employees in China have repeatedly used non-public US user data. In an audio recording of TikTok’s internal meeting, accessed by the publication, nine different employees made fourteen separate statements indicating they had access to US user data between September 2021 and January 2022.
The US scrutiny of TikTok took place during the time of President Donald Trump.