Senators Warned of China Spying Efforts Through TikTok
screenshot Newsmax TV
By Mark Swanson From Newsmax
The intelligence community gave a classified briefing to the United State Senate on China’s spy potential through TikTok this week, with one lawmaker telling Axios that China’s ability was “shocking.”
Wednesday’s briefing given by officials from the FBI, Justice Department, and the Director of National Intelligence detailed the ease with which China is able to access and track data of Americans through the popular app, Axios reported.
The Senate is mulling what to do with a bill, passed last week by the House, that would force ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, to sell it off to a U.S. company or face a ban.
One senator told Axios that “TikTok is able to spy on the microphone on users’ devices, track keystrokes and determine what the users are doing on other apps.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the briefing helpful in “bringing some members up to date with the threats that China poses through TikTok.”
“Their ability to track, their ability to spy is shocking,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Axios.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Thursday that lawmakers are facing a rise in threats over the TikTok legislation that has prompted the U.S. Capitol Police to investigate.
The threats have ranged from violent threats made against a senator’s office to threats of self-harm from users if Congress bans the app, according to the Post.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took to social media to post a voicemail to his office that threatened to “cut him into pieces” if he votes to ban it.
“TikTok’s misinformation campaign is pushing people to call their members of Congress, and callers like this who communicate threats against elected officials could be committing a federal crime,” Tillis posted to X.
“Threats like this are unacceptable and we condemn this in the strongest possible terms,” TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek said in a statement. “Clearly, there are millions of Americans who want to and have the right to speak out against the ban bill that would trample Americans’ constitutional rights of free expression, but we must all do so in a respectful, civil manner.”
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
Related Stories:
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
For more on this story go to: NEWSMAX
