Calls for TikTok Probe Widen, Adding To Pressure on Biden To Weigh In

Calls for an investigation into the security risks posed by the video app TikTok are widening, adding to pressure on President Biden to make good on his year-old promise to get tough on apps that could share Americans' personal data with foreign adversaries. From a report: The Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the panel's top Republican sent a joint letter to the Federal Trade Commission this week urging an investigation of TikTok's data-handling and other practices. TikTok's parent, ByteDance, has its headquarters in Beijing. The letter from Sens. Mark Warner (D., Va.) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) followed reports by BuzzFeed that ByteDance's employees in China have repeatedly accessed U.S. users' personal data. "We ask that your agency immediately initiate [an] investigation on the basis of apparent deception by TikTok" concerning its data-handling and corporate- governance practices, said the lawmakers' letter. It called for the FTC to coordinate its work with any investigation that might be initiated by the Justice Department. The FTC and DOJ declined to comment. TikTok said that it is making progress in sharply limiting access to its data on Americans.

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