Here's how Trump could ban the Chinese-owned app TikTok

Yahoo ^ | 7/17/20 | Jenna McLaughlin

[Libloather]

TikTok, the popular video app, has taken a series of steps to convince U.S. officials the company is dedicated to protecting Americans’ data, including hiring Kevin Mayer, previously the head of streaming at Disney, as its CEO. It has also pushed for and held meetings with U.S. lawmakers, pulled out of Hong Kong due to a new severe Chinese national security law and published a “privacy roadmap.”

That may not be enough to meet U.S. demands, however.

In recent weeks, U.S. government officials and members of Congress have placed the company in their crosshairs, warning that personal data collected by the social media giant could be secretly sent back to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on July 6 that the U.S. is considering following India’s lead and banning the app.

Pompeo didn’t say how the Trump administration would do this, but even beyond the question of whether the U.S. should ban it, policymakers will have to figure out how to ban it. Some in Congress, however, have already been thinking about it.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill that would ban federal employees from using TikTok on their work phones, which may be up for a vote next week. The Pentagon has already advised its personnel not to download the app, and U.S. companies like Wells Fargo have told employees to uninstall it. (Amazon briefly made the same demands of its workforce but later backtracked.)

[Libloather]

While light-hearted music videos might not seem that sensitive, TikTok admits it collects wide-ranging information, not all of which users need to share, including the user’s age, email, phone number, profile information, comments, private messages, payment information, network contacts and location data - not unlike U.S. social media giant Facebook.

Chicom research.

[escapefromboston]

How will eThots lip sync to terrible songs now?

[TBP]

Ban it and block it.

[marktwain]

And unlike telecommunications networks that could be tapped by companies like Huawei, and “a long history of connections to the Chinese intelligence services and a willingness to spy,” the personal information gathered on TikTok “doesn’t provide any intelligence advantage,” he said.

I don't believe this guy is that stupid. He is probably bought and paid for by the Chinese.

Having access to huge amounts of personal data on millions of Americans "doesn't provide any intelligence advantage"? That is insane.

The CIA would be willing to spend billions to have that sort of information on millions of Chinese.

The potential for recruitment, alone, is huge.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Trump would be stupid to ban it. There are a lot of people being red-pilled on the app that they otherwise wouldn't get from Twitter or Facebook.

Plus, some of the videos are hilarious. It's a guilty pleasure.

[cableguymn]

why do you think leftist rag Yahoo is trying to get Trump to ban it?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I just answered the question in my post.

[metmom]

I have my dumb little flip phone and love it. And I leave it home many times when I go out.

I don’t want a smart phone, social media, or anything else that puts me on the radar.