National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone warned on Tuesday about the fallout from TikTok.
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, he expressed his concerns about the data collection and potential of Chinese-owned video apps to facilitate widespread influence operations.
“TikTok worries me for a number of reasons,” the director told Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama.
First, Nakasone said he was concerned about “the data they have.”
TIKTOK can be a giant propaganda machine for communist China, Democrat lawmaker reveals
NSA Director Paul Nakasone has expressed his concerns about TikTok’s influence. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Second is the algorithm and who has control of the algorithm,” he added.
The NSA chief highlighted TikTok’s ability to “shut down messages” and proactively influence its users.
More than 100 million Americans use the app.
Previously, the White House asked all federal agencies to remove the app from government devices within 30 days.
What the NSA cares about is the app’s algorithm — and the people who control it. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
Kentucky Senate passes bill banning TIKTOK on state-issued devices
In 2020, the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) ordered the Chinese company ByteDance to spin off TikTok over concerns that user data could be shared with the Chinese government.
TikTok CEO Zhou Shouzi is scheduled to appear before Congress on March 23.
Nakasone’s comments came as senators unveiled the RESTRICT bill.
Nakasone is not alone in his concerns about ByteDance and data sharing. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The quickest and most thorough way to resolve any national security concerns about TikTok is for CFIUS – of which the DOD and NSA are a part – to adopt the proposed agreement that we have worked with them for almost two years,” TikTok said, according to Reuters. Representative Brooke Oberwetter said, adding that TikTok’s “status has been publicly debated in a way that runs counter to the facts of the agreement and what we’ve achieved,” the report said.
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TikTok did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
