The Feds Want You To Freak Out Over TikTok. You Shouldn’t, And They Can’t Ban It Anyway.

The Feds Want You To Freak Out Over TikTok. You Shouldn’t, And They Can’t Ban It Anyway.

POLAND - 2020/07/15: In this photo illustration a TikTok logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. ... [+] (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)





SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images





TikTok has become one of Washington's least-favorite social apps, and not just because it's a millennial hangout befuddling older politicians.



With TikTok, the problem isn't what it is but where it's from. Chilling U.S.-China ties may freeze out Beijing-based ByteDance's popular video-clip app“”fourth on Apple's top-free chart, above Facebook and Gmail's iOS releases. 



Allegations that TikTok is a multitasking Trojan Horse“”collecting data on its users while suppressing criticism of China“”led India to ban the app, followed by calls for the U.S. to do likewise. 





"We're certainly looking at it,“ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham July 6 when asked if the U.S. should forbid TikTok. His advice to viewers considering downloading TikTok: "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.“ 



Tuesday, the House passed a defense appropriations bill with an amendment from Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) forbidding TikTok on government devices.







TikTok says it's no tool of Beijing. 



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