A bipartisan warning was issued to TikTok and was described as a "Chinese Surveillance Tool" by two senators. This was done in the middle of obtaining a security agreement between the company and President Joe Biden's administration, that will make the application continue its operations in the United States and lift the ban permanently that was suggested by the former president.

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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 07: In this photo illustration, the TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on August 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans any transactions between the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, and U.S. citizens due to national security reasons. The president signed a separate executive order banning transactions with China-based tech company Tencent, which owns the app WeChat. Both orders are set to take effect in 45 days.

Bipartisan Warning for Surveillance Concern

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner issued a bipartisan warning to TikTok, as they warn young audiences of potential risks that may occur when using the application.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the warning was issued despite the Biden administration's seeks to secure a security agreement with the company, which will make TikTok continue its operations in the country. 

"It's not just the content you upload to TikTok but all the data on your phone, other apps, all your personal information, even facial imagery, even where your eyes are looking on your phone," Cotton stated. He also described TikTok as one of the most massive surveillance programs ever, that heavily targets America's young people. While Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee Chair, described the application as an enormous threat. He added, "All of that data that your child is inputting and receiving, is being stored somewhere in Beijing." 

Just this month, two Republican lawmakers said that they will be introducing legislation to ban the operations of TikTok in the United States. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher criticized the current administration for not taking action regarding the application.

Security Agreement

Adding to this, several critics were concerned about data leakage as the government tries to secure a security agreement.

As per South China Morning Post, the deal includes routing US user traffic through maintained servers by Oracle Corp., as the US-based databased giant audits the algorithm of the application.  

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray told a House panel as he shares his own views regarding the agreement. As per him, the Chinese government might use the application to control the data of millions of users.

"Under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to essentially, and I'm going to shorthand here - basically do whatever the Chinese government wants them to do in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government," Wray added. 

Also Read: TikTok Ban in the US? FCC Commissioner Details Data Collection, Access from its Users

Tiktok's Response

TikTok currently works on 'Project Texas', which will make the sensitive data isolated from its American users, and the staff in the United States will only have access. Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew is needed to be done regardless of how expensive and difficult it is to build, just to prove that their intentions are clear with the concerns of US officials. The company also clarified that only some of its employees have access to American users' information, but strongly denied the Chinese government affiliations.  

Related Article: Is TikTok a National Security Threat? FBI Says App Could Weaponize Collected User Data 

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Written by Inno Flores