![]() "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," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in December. And like other social media apps, TikTok collects vast amounts of data on its users - a big reason that states are now banning the app from government devices. ![]() In one instance, an American teenager was banned from the platform in 2019 for criticizing China's treatment of Muslim Uyghurs, though that ban was later lifted. That raises concerns that Chinese officials could influence Americans by manipulating the app algorithm. "It isn't an arm of the Chinese Communist Party," Vox explained, "but Chinese laws say it can be forced to assist the Chinese government." TikTok comes with a twist: It's owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. Witness the brouhahas over Facebook's role in the 2016 election and Twitter's role in blocking a story about Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Social media apps are regularly scrutinized for how they influence their users. The short answer is influence and espionage. More recently, the White House demanded the app's Chinese owners divest their stake in the platform or risk a nationwide ban. ![]() Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bill to do just that. In November, Brendan Carr, an FCC commissioner, called for the federal government to cancel TikTok, and Sen.
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