Apple and Google should boot TikTok from their app stores, Democratic senator urges - CNBC

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., urged the CEOs of Apple and Google to region TikTok from their mobile app stores instantly successful a missive connected Thursday, citing wide concerns that the Chinese authorities could entree accusation connected Americans utilizing the app.

The petition from Bennet, who sits connected the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, highlights some the increasing interest implicit TikTok's imaginable nationalist information risks and the powerfulness of Apple and Google person to determine the benignant of apps to which Americans tin access.

Bennet told the CEOs of some firms that TikTok is unsocial from different societal media platforms due to the fact that of its China-based genitor institution ByteDance, which nether Chinese instrumentality would beryllium required to manus implicit interior data to the authorities to assistance successful quality work.

"Beijing's request raises the evident hazard that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could weaponize TikTok against the United States, specifically, by forcing ByteDance to surrender Americans' delicate information oregon manipulate the contented Americans person to beforehand China's interests," Bennet wrote. "These evident risks render TikTok, successful its existent form, an unacceptable menace to the nationalist information of the United States."

TikTok has repeatedly sought to reassure acrophobic American lawmakers and officials that it does not store U.S. idiosyncratic information successful China. It has besides been negotiating with the U.S. government astir however it tin mitigate imaginable nationalist information risks portion continuing to run here.

But truthful acold galore lawmakers stay unconvinced, with Congress passing a measure astatine the extremity of past twelvemonth banning TikTok from authorities devices. Others person proposed banning TikTok in the U.S. altogether. Limits connected TikTok to assorted degrees person besides proliferated crossed several states and universities.

In his letter, Bennet cites a BuzzFeed News nonfiction from past twelvemonth based connected recordings of interior meetings that recovered China-based employees astatine TikTok's genitor institution repeatedly accessed accusation about U.S. TikTok users. Bennet besides cited a caller Forbes nonfiction describing TikTok's signifier of "heating" oregon boosting prime videos to assistance them spell viral.

Bennet said that suggests a "very existent anticipation that the CCP could compel TikTok, via ByteDance, to usage its power to beforehand Chinese authorities interests, for example, by tweaking its algorithm to contiguous Americans contented to undermine U.S. antiauthoritarian institutions oregon muffle criticisms of CCP argumentation toward Hong Kong, Taiwan, oregon its Uighur population."

"Unfortunately, Senator Bennet's missive relies astir exclusively connected misleading reporting astir TikTok, the information we collect, and our information information controls," TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said successful a statement. "It besides ignores the sizeable concern we person made done Project Texas—a program negotiated with our country's apical nationalist information experts—to supply further assurances to our assemblage astir their information information and the integrity of the TikTok platform."

Apple and Google did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

Subscribe to CNBC connected YouTube.

WATCH: What is ByteDance?