An FCC commissioner’s calls for action become more direct and increasingly uncompromising.
A commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has again expressed his desire for TikTok to be banned in the United States. But this time, it’s his boldest statement yet.
In the past few years, TikTok has been under increasing scrutiny for suspicion about the company’s ties to the Chinese government and concern over what exactly it does with data it collects, such as location and content preferences it is able to compile from its users.
Citing national security concerns in the summer of 2020, former President Donald Trump tried to implement a ban by executive order. President Joe Biden eventually issued executive orders of his own that reversed Trump’s, ending legal action.
And the popular video sharing App owned by Chinese company ByteDance has recently been under fire for its involvement in an alleged plot to gather data on U.S. citizens.
The accusation, denied by ByteDance, alleged two cases when a ByteDance team based in China went after TikTok data that could reveal the whereabouts of a U.S. citizen.
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Statements by Carr Become a Call for Action
In July 2022, Brendan Carr testified about TikTok use in the U.S. government and military. “Thankfully, many entities–public and private–have taken notice and are taking action,” he said.
“For example, multiple U.S. military branches have banned TikTok from government-issued devices due to national security risks, including the Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. U.S. government officials have also urged troops and their dependents to erase the app from their personal phones. But as noted above, TikTok continues to be prevalent on service members’ personal devices,” he added.
Now, Carr is calling again for a ban and is appealing to a Treasury Department committee for action.
“The Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) should take action to ban TikTok,” Axios says Carr told the publication. “I don’t believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban.”
The FCC is unable to take action itself, but the Treasury Department’s actions have teeth.
Other maneuvering is being considered as well. “TikTok is currently in negotiations with CFIUS, an interagency committee that conducts national security reviews of foreign companies’ deals, to determine whether it can be divested by Chinese parent company ByteDance to an American company and remain operational in the United States,” Axios reported.
TikTok currently has 94.1 million users in the U.S., according to Statista.
Twitter Users Have Comments
Social media is understandably following these developments and users have a variety of opinions.
“Not ‘should,’ more like ‘should have already’ banned TikTok,” writes @Key7th.
“If only there wasn’t a first amendment!” exclaims @aaron_techlaw.
“It isn’t a first amendment fight. More of a national security issue. Use @lomotifofficial instead. American company, safe and secure,” says @JeffTay68778958.
“Wasn’t this already considered? Also crazy timing after Elon Says he gonna think about bringing back Vine,” writes @BlackPaulBunyan.
“Wouldn’t be surprised that this comms was intended for midterm only. Ban TikTok will have a negative impact on Dems midterm chance,” suggests @ElvisKYG.
