Security News > 2020 > March > US Lawmakers Told of Security Risks From China-owned TikTok
US officials on Wednesday stepped up warnings about the potential security risks from the fast-growing, Chinese-owned TikTok as a lawmaker unveiled legislation to ban the social media app from government devices.
Senator Josh Hawley, who convened the hearing, said he was introducing a bill to ban TikTok from all US government devices, calling it "a major security risk for the American people."
Bryan Ware, a cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, echoed those fears, saying that TikTok data could become part of a large database exploited by China.
"There's certainly no place for applications like TikTok on government devices and government networks."
Adam Hickey, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's security division, said the aggregation of data from TikTok "Makes it easier for intelligence services to either recruit or hack into systems used by government employees."
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