RT.com
29 Mar 2023, 23:44 GMT+10
The NSA claims the video-sharing app poses a cybersecurity threat
The head of the US National Security Agency's cybersecurity unit described TikTok as China's "Trojan horse" on Monday, claiming the video-sharing app is being used by Beijing to collect Americans' data.
Rob Joyce urged Washington to start monitoring Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which owns TikTok, in a bid to avoid future security incidents.
"Why would you bring the Trojan horse inside the fortress? Why would you bring that capability into the US when the Chinese could manipulate the data we see to either include the things they want to present to our population - divisive material - or remove the things that paint them in a bad light, which they would not like to be exposed to the American people?" Joyce said at a conference in California.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew faced off with US lawmakers during a US House Committee hearing last week amid growing calls to ban the popular app. Lawmakers and cybersecurity experts have been expressing concern for months over ByteDance's access to the personal information of TikTok's 150 million monthly users in the US.
In November, FBI Director Chris Wray warned that the Chinese government could use the app to collect American users' data for espionage and even take control of their mobile device software. Following his comments, the US federal government and 25 state administrations banned TikTok on the devices they use for work.
Both TikTok and Beijing have repeatedly denied the accusations. At the hearing, Chew said TikTok posed no bigger threat than rival social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, and stressed that his company had been securing users' information more thoroughly than US-based firms because of the lack of trust from the US authorities.
Following the hearing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated that China "takes data privacy and security very seriously" and "has never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence located abroad against local laws."
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed a special screening of the controversial film 'Udaipur...
CANBERRA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government is very concerned about U.S. threats to impose increased tariffs on pharmaceutical...
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 8 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President...
New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): In a strategic push to harness the power of AI for inclusive communication, the Ministry of Information...
Sasaram (Bihar) [India], July 7 (ANI): India's seamer Akash Deep's childhood friend, Vaibhav Kumar, said that the cricketer's sister,...
Birmingham [UK], July 7 (ANI): Following some promising signs at Leeds despite a five-wicket loss, the massive ceiling and unreal potential...