TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — When expressing concerns about the threat to national security, FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday (March 8) said the Chinese government can control the data of millions of users in the U.S. through TikTok and use this to influence public discourse, including discussions about Taiwan.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee held a hearing on global security threats on Wednesday. When Marco Rubio, committee vice chairman, asked the director whether the Chinese government through TikTok's parent company ByteDance can "control data on millions of users," Wray replied "Yes."
Rubio then asked if Beijing can utilize TikTok to "control software on millions of devices," to which Wray also replied "Yes." The senator then asked whether China might leverage TikTok to "drive narratives" to divide the American public.
Rubio asked if it is plausible that during preparations to invade Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could use TikTok to "make sure Americans are seeing videos arguing why Taiwan belongs to China" and why the U.S. should not intervene. Wray again replied affirmatively and warned that there may not be many outward signs if such a propaganda campaign was launched.
Wray stressed that what the American people need to understand is that while in the U.S., the distinction between the private sector and the public sector is sacrosanct, "that's a line that is nonexistent in the way the CCP operates."
Responding to a request from Senator Michael Bennet to describe the dangers of TikTok to Americans, Wray said most Americans would object to handing their private data to the CCP if they were aware of this risk. Wray said the CCP can use TikTok user information to conduct big data operations that involve activities such as espionage and IP theft.
Wray said that "data is the coin of the realm" and that "those who have the best information have the power." The FBI director then said that TikTok provides the CCP with three major digital weapons to conduct hostile actions against the U.S., including data, their recommendation algorithm, and software.
He then explained that TikTok hands Beijing "the control of the data, to conduct all sorts of big data operations, it's the control of the recommendation algorithm, which allows them to conduct influence operations, it's the control of the software, which allows them to then have access to millions of devices." Combining those three elements together with the fact that it is a tool controlled by the CCP, "and to me, it screams out with national security concerns."
A dozen U.S. senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday (March 7) titled the RESTRICT Act that would allow the government to issue bans on foreign-based technologies that pose a threat to U.S. national security, such as TikTok. Mark Warner, the bill's sponsor and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that this legislation enables the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose a number of restrictions, including prohibitions on foreign technology platforms such as TikTok that are used by foreign adversaries to pose an "undue or unacceptable risk to national security."
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also issued a special press release on Tuesday praising the bipartisan bill. Sullivan said in the statement that the bipartisan bill "would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans’ sensitive data and our national security."
Today, #FBI Director Christopher Wray joined the directors of other U.S. intelligence agencies to testify on global security threats before the Senate Intelligence Committee. pic.twitter.com/qmWgqeAKwQ
— FBI (@FBI) March 8, 2023
During the discussion on the Chinese government during today's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, when asked about TikTok, #FBI Director Wray said that platforms within the control of the Chinese government pose a serious threat to American national security. pic.twitter.com/kKETsNe7Qw
— FBI (@FBI) March 8, 2023