US FCC commissioner wants TikTok to be removed from app stores
Brendan Carr, one of the commissioners of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wrote a letter addressed to Apple's CEO Tim Cook and Google's CEO Sundar Pichai requesting the removal of TikTok from their app stores due to data security concerns.
Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
In his letter, which he publicly shared on his Twitter account, the US FCC commissioner cited several reports that proved that the Chinese-owned video app did not comply with the policies required by Apple Store and Google Play Stores.
TikTok is not just another video app.
-- Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
That's the sheep's clothing.
It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.
I've called on @Apple & @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn
At the start of his letter, Carr shone light on the recent news report released by BuzzFeed about the alleged collection of data from Americans by the app.
He said, “TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance--an organization that is beholden to the Communist Party of China and required by Chinese law to comply with the PRC's surveillance demands. Through leaked audio recordings, last week's BuzzFeed News reports revealed that ByteDance officials in Beijing have repeatedly accessed the sensitive data that TikTok has collected from Americans after those U.S. users downloaded the app through your app stores. 'Everything is seen in China,' a TikTok official said in the recordings, despite the fact that TikTok has repeatedly represented that the data it gathers about Americans is stored in the United States.”
Carr further shares in his letter to Apple and Google's CEOs, “TikTok is not what it appears to be on the surface. It is not just an app for sharing funny videos or memes. That's the sheep's clothing. At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.”
Photo by Anna Shvets
With their claims of protecting consumer privacy and safeguarding consumer data, Apple and Google were tasked by the US FCC commissioner to immediately remove the app. In the event that they do not comply, both companies are to provide separate responses by July 8, 2022, explaining “the basis for your company's conclusion that the surreptitious access of private and sensitive U.S. user data by persons located in Beijing, coupled with TikTok's pattern of misleading representations and conduct, does not run afoul of any of your app store policies,” Carr states.
According to The New York Times, Brooke Oberwetter, spokeswoman for TikTok, said the company was engaging with lawmakers who had asked questions about its data practices. Further details about the issue are yet to be officially announced.
While waiting, you might want to drift your attention towards the social media platform Twitter and check out some of the tweets that made a mark.
