A group of 24 United States Congressmen has written to US President Donald Trump urging him to ban mobile application TikTok and other Chinese apps citing security and privacy concerns. The Congressmen also highlighted India's recent step of banning the Chinese apps in order to protect data, privacy and security. In a letter to President Trump, the congressmen said that they supported the administration’s efforts to restrict TikTok and other social media sites linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from accessing the US markets.

"These popular apps’ data collection practices, coupled with China’s onerous cybersecurity laws requiring all companies operating in China, including TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to share user data with CCP authorities, present a very real threat to US national security," the letter said.

They urged the Trump administration to take decisive action to protect the American people’s privacy and safety.

The letter also highlighted the recent step taken by the Indian government to ban 59 Chinese apps.

"In June, India took the extraordinary step of the Chinese affiliated mobile apps including tick-tock, due to national security reasons. However, the CCP‘s systemic campaign to collect and illicitly transmit user data on the Chinese government‘s purposes is not unique to Indian consumers," the letter said.

"In fact, Chinese authority is currently enjoying relatively unrestricted access to US consumer and government data through the country's advanced determining policies. As evidence, Tik-Tok’s privacy policy for US residents is upfront about the fast quantity of user data and shares with the CCP," it noted.

The letter mentioned the privacy policies TikTok which said that the app automatically collects certain information from users' when they use the platform including internet activity information IP address, geolocation-related data.., unique device identifiers, browser and search history (including content you have viewed in the Platform), and Cookies.

The letter also quoted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying "Americans should only use this app if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Furthermore, the congressmen also raised concerns over TikTok’s censorship of user content to advance the CCP’s foreign policy aims.

"It is clear that the United States should not trust TikTok or any other Chinese-affiliate social media websites or apps to protect Americans’ data, privacy or security. As such, we urge you to take strong action to stop the CCP’s sophisticated espionage campaign against our country and protect our national security," they said.

First Published:Jul 16, 2020 12:51 PM IST