Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that Chinese software companies are feeding their private data “directly to the Chinese Communist Party” and that the federal government will soon take action to address those privacy concerns.
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Pompeo shared some examples of the kind of information that he said Chinese companies are storing and handing over the Chinese government.
“These Chinese software companies doing business in the United States, whether it’s TikTok or WeChat there are countless more, as Peter Navarro said, are feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party,” Pompeo said.
He continued, “Could be their facial recognition pattern. It could be information about their residence, their phone numbers, their friends who they’re connected to.”
He said that they are “true national security issues” and “true privacy issues” and argued that the U.S. has for a “long time” turned a blind eye to those concerns due to monetary reasons or entertainment value.
Now, however, Pompeo said President Donald Trump will “take action” to address those concerns. “President Trump has said enough, and we’re going to fix it. And so, he will take action in the coming days with respect to a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Watch the video below:
Pompeo was asked if officials can be confident that even if a U.S. company acquired a product created by a Chinese company that there would be no back door to allow the Chinese government to obtain Americans’ private information.
He did not definitively say that Americans’ data would be secure under such a deal, but he said, “We’ll make sure that everything we have done drives us as close to zero risk for the American people.”
Pompeo’s comments come days after Trump told reporters he would sign an order that would ban the TikTok in the U.S., as IJR reported.
Trump’s announcement came after negotiations between TikTok’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance and potential U.S.-based buyers fell through.
The move comes amid increased scrutiny of how Chinese software companies handle Americans’ private data and concerns that users’ data is being shared with the Chinese government.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously passed a bill that would prevent federal government employees from using TikTok on government-issued devices.
Amid concerns about the security of Americans’ data, Pompeo previously said the Trump administration was “certainly looking at” banning Chinese social media apps, as IJR reported.
TikTok has pushed back on claims that it shares users’ data with the Chinese government. In a statement to The Hill, the company said, “We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”
