What did the FCC Commissioner say about TikTok? Possible platform ban explored

Brendan Carr, the US FCC Commissioner, has called upon Apple and Google to remove the TikTok app from their store over data security concerns.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's senior Republican member called for the ban on the app in a letter dated June 24. They addressed it to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

The FCC commissioner has called out the popular app TikTok, known for its short-form video format and expert algorithm, as a wolf in ''sheep's clothing." The app could be disguising the fact that it is a tool for mass surveillance and a threat to the populace.

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What is the basis of the FCC's allegations against TikTok?

Carr referred to a recent BuzzFeed News report' that has revealed how Beijing-based employees of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, have repeatedly accessed private information on U.S. users, despite company reassurances of privacy.

The news report leaked audio recordings from dozens of meetings that suggested Beijing-based ByteDance having greater access to U.S. user data than previously known. Chinese employees were reportedly capable of accessing U.S. data between September 2021 and January 2022.

TikTok responded to the report saying that they are moving all U.S. users' data to Oracle servers situated in the country. The company said it uses its own servers located in the U.S. and Singapore for backup, but it expects to "delete U.S. users' private data from our own data centers and fully pivot to Oracle cloud servers located in the U.S" in the future.

The FCC Commissioner raised concerns over TikTok's Chinese ownership and said that it "harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing."

On Carr's Twitter handle, he posted the letter written to the CEOs of Apple and Google:

"It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to its extensive data being combined with Beijing's apparently unchecked access to that data."

He further said that it was evident that the app's "pattern of conduct and misrepresentations" concerning its unhindered access to U.S. user data makes it opposed to policies that both companies require every app on their app stores to comply with.

Brendan Carr also made references to many of the other controversies that the short-form social media app has found itself in over the years. This includes the transfer of U.S. data to servers in China, unlawful access to user data, and how India banned the app in June 2020.

Another report from BuzzFeed News showed that the app, which became famous in 2018, is only doing what they earlier purported they would do:

"Addressing concerns around access to U.S. user data by employees outside the U.S. We've been clear and vocal about our work in this area as we seek to address both location and access to data.

A spokesperson for the app further said:

"We're pleased that we now route 100% of U.S. user traffic to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and we are continuing to work on additional safeguards on U.S. data for improved peace of mind for our community."

Carr countered this, reasoning that the video-sharing app's collaboration with Oracle "does not address the concerns raised here." However, there has been no clarification as to whether China-based workers still have access to U.S. data.

The FCC Commissioner has said that if Apple and Google don't remove the app from their respective app stores, they will have to provide individual explanations to him for not acting on the threat by July 24.