FCC Commissioner Calls for Ban on TikTok Over Data Security Concerns
AllSides Summary
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called for a ban on the highly popular social media app TikTok, citing data security concerns regarding the app’s owner, ByteDance, a Chinese company. TikTok is currently in talks with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and has refuted allegations that the Chinese government has access to data on U.S. users of the app.
Key Quotes: Speaking with Axios, Carr said, “I don’t believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban.” Concerns regarding privacy on the app has garnered support from both sides of the aisle, with Fox News (Right Bias) reporting Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner stating, “the ability for China to have undue influence is a much greater challenge and a much more immediate threat than any kind of actual, armed conflict.” TikTok’s response was consistent with all outlets inquiring, stating, “we are confident that we are on a path to reaching an agreement with the U.S. Government that will satisfy all reasonable national security concerns”
For Context: Former President Donald Trump sought to ban TikTok over similar concerns in 2020, but no action was taken. Reports from Buzzfeed (Left Bias) and Forbes (Center Bias) revealed that despite refutes from TikTok, U.S. data gathered from the app is accessible at the China-based parent company.
How the Media Covered It: Carr’s call was covered across the spectrum with similar framing on Wednesday.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
FCC commissioner says government should ban TikTok
The Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) should take action to ban TikTok, Brendan Carr, one of five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: It's the strongest language Carr has used to date to urge action on TikTok. With more than 200 million downloads in the U.S. alone, the popular app is becoming a form of critical information infrastructure — making the app's ownership by a Chinese parent company a target of growing national security concern.
The FCC has no...
From the Right
US government should ban TikTok, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr says
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called Tuesday for the US government to formally ban the popular video sharing app TikTok over national security risks posed by its ties to China.
Carr, a frequent TikTok critic and the Federal Communications Commission’s senior Republican member, argued any other resolution would not adequately address concerns that Beijing could improperly access the data of millions of US-based TikTok users.
“I don’t believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban,” Carr told Axios in what was described as his strongest rebuke of...
From the Left
FCC commissioner calls for TikTok ban The US government should ban TikTok rather than come to a national security agreement with the social media app that might allow it to continue operating in the United States, according to Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.
A string of news reports this year about TikTok’s handling of US user data has left Carr with “little confidence there’s a path forward,” he told CNN in a phone interview Tuesday. “Perhaps the deal CFIUS ends up cutting is an amazing, airtight deal, but at this point I...
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