Washington, DC, July 8 – The United States government is considering banning certain Chinese social media applications, such as the popular TikTok, with millions of users worldwide, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
According to the official, who was interviewed on Fox News, the administration of President Donald Trump is “taking the option very seriously”.
Interviewed by Laura Ingraham, Pompeo answered the question about whether the country should curb Chinese social media applications with high social impact, especially TikTok, a topic that the secretary of state replied that the government will handle the situation before issuing a statement.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the president, but it’s something we’re seeing.”
According to the diplomat, just download the popular application “if you want your private information to be in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the company is headed “by an American chief executive, with hundreds of key employees and leaders in security, product and public policy here in the United States.”
“We have no higher priority than promoting a secure application experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if they asked us to,” the letter continued.
The tension between the United States and China has grown in recent months, a situation that had found its main obstacle in the commercial sphere, but that extended to the political field.
TikTok has come under fire from several of the United States political figures after being accused of becoming a threat to the country’s security for its ties to the Chinese government.
From the company, they ensure that their data is outside the Asian giant, so it does not pose a threat.
A company spokesperson told CNN that the concerns are “unfounded.”
This has been the Chinese network platform with the greatest impact in the West. According to CNN data, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times during the first quarter of the year alone, numbers that surpass other applications.
Last week, the Indian government announced its ban along with a number of other applications from China, as they pose a “threat to the sovereignty and integrity” of the country.
