March 8, 2023 Updated: March 8, 2023
National Security Agency
Director Gen. Paul Nakasone testifies before a House (Select) Intelligence
Committee hearing on diversity in the Intelligence Community on Capitol Hill in
Washington on Oct. 27, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
U.S. National Security
Agency Director Paul Nakasone has said he is concerned about what data
Chinese-owned TikTok may be collecting on users and how it could influence
American children.
Nakasone expressed his
concerns during testimony delivered
before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7.
Asked by Sen. Tommy
Tuberville (R-Ala.) about any worries he has about TikTok’s influence on
kids in America, Nakasone responded: “TikTok concerns me for a number of
different reasons. One is the data that they have.”
“Secondly is the
algorithm and the control, who controls the algorithm. Third is the broad
platform influence operations, as we talked about previously. It’s not only a
fact that you can influence something, but you can also turn off the message as
well when you have such a large population of listeners,” Nakasone said.
The NSA is part of the
Defense Department and is responsible for U.S. cryptographic and communications
intelligence and security.
TikTok, which is owned by
Beijing-based ByteDance, has soared in popularity over the years and is now
used by more than 100 million Americans.
However, Washington has
repeatedly raised concerns that the app poses a threat to national
security, with American user data potentially being used by the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP).
Expanding
Government Power to Ban TikTok
There are also concerns
that the recommendation algorithm on the app may be used to manipulate
what users see as part of influence operations.
Last month, the White
House ordered that TikTok be removed from all government
devices and systems within 30 days, although there are
exceptions in cases of national security, law enforcement, or security
research activities.
Nakasone’s remarks came
the same day that Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) led
a group of 12 bipartisan senators in introducing legislation intended
to expand the federal government’s power in order to ban TikTok and other
foreign-owned entities from operating in the United States.
The bill, also known as
the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and
Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, would increase the Commerce
Department’s power to review and prevent information communications and
technology transactions from tech companies that are owned by six
adversarial foreign nations: China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and
Venezuela.
“Congress needs to stop
taking a piecemeal approach when it comes to technology from adversarial
nations that pose national security risks,” said Thune in a statement on
Tuesday. “Our country needs a process in place to address these risks,
which is why I’m pleased to work with Senator Warner to establish a holistic,
methodical approach to address the threats posed by technology platforms – like
TikTok – from foreign adversaries. This bipartisan legislation would take a
necessary step to ensure consumers’ information and our communications
technology infrastructure is secure.”
TikTok
Responds to Concerns
TikTok denies that its
user data and information can be accessed by the Chinese regime or that its
content can be manipulated and says it stores U.S. user data on servers
outside of China.
The company has also
urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States (CFIUS) to finalize a national security agreement that
would allow it to continue operating in the United States in exchange for
solutions that would address national security concerns.
A TikTok spokeswoman told
Reuters that the company had been working with the U.S. government to
address national security concerns.
“The swiftest and most thorough
way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for CFIUS—of
which the Department of Defense and the NSA are a part—to adopt the proposed
agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years,” said TikTok
representative Brooke Oberwetter in a statement.
Oberwetter added
that TikTok’s “status has been debated in public in a way that is divorced
from the facts of that agreement and what we’ve achieved already.”
TikTok Chief Executive
Shou Zi Chew is set to testify before the House Energy and Commerce
Committee on March 23 about the app’s privacy and data security practices
as well as its impact on children.
The Epoch Times has
contacted TikTok for comment.
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