Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday revealed the Trump administration is considering banning Chinese social media applications including TikTok, the popular short video-sharing social network, from being used in the United States.
"We’re taking this very seriously. We’re certainly looking at it,” Pompeo told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, citing the administration’s actions against the Chinese-based telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE.
“With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cellphones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too, Laura. I don’t want to get out in front of the president, but it’s something we’re looking at,” Pompeo said.
The secretary’s remarks came as India suspended TikTok’s use Tuesday as part of a wider ban on dozens of Chinese apps issued amid a military standoff between the two countries.
The app, owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, has also elicited skepticism from government officials in Australia, as well as members of Congress in the U.S. — where major social media platforms have been criticized for the spread of misinformation and regulation of speech.
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rick Scott of Florida introduced legislation in March that would prohibit federal employees from using TikTok on government-issued work phones.
In May, more than a dozen Democrats on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee joined calls for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the app for alleged Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act violations.
Meanwhile, TikTok has expanded its lobbying footprint in Washington in an effort to counter the scrutiny, enlisting former lawmakers to become part of a team advising the app on developing a comprehensive approach to vetting objectionable videos and otherwise moderating its users’ content.