Moscow: The United States is weighing up a ban on access to the Chinese social media application TikTok over privacy concerns, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during an appearance on the Fox News broadcaster. When asked if the Trump administration would follow the lead of the Indian authorities, who have already announced a ban on the application, Pompeo cited the current restrictions in place against several Chinese tech companies, including 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," Pompeo said, adding that he did not want to "get ahead" of any forthcoming announcement by President Donald Trump. The secretary of state was also asked if he recommended that US citizens download TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech firm ByteDance. "Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party," Pompeo remarked.
The Indian government on June 29 banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese applications amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Beijing after a deadly border clash. In the days that followed, leading TikTok officials, including the company''s CEO Kevin Mayer, said that Beijing had never asked to receive Indian users'' data.
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