Nominee for Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 9, 2021.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
A senior official at the Justice Department on Thursday warned against the use of popular short-form video app TikTok, due to security concerns stemming from the app’s ownership by a Chinese company. , ByteDance.
“I don’t use TikTok and I wouldn’t advise anyone to do so because of these concerns,” said Lisa Monaco, DOJ’s deputy attorney general. event about countries’ disruptive technologies at Chatham House in London.
Monaco pointed out what she called “the dangers of Chinese companies having to comply with China’s national security laws.”
She said the concern extends to any company doing business in China that might be subject to such rules, requiring them to turn over data to the Chinese government for national security purposes. allegations.
“There is a reason we need to be extremely worried,” Monaco said.
The DOJ has played a role in reviewing TikTok’s ongoing operations in the United States through the Commission on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). That process will determine if the United States can reach a risk mitigation agreement with TikTok to satisfy national security concerns. As of the end of last year, those discussions were delay due to ongoing concerns about the app’s ownership, according to The Wall Street Journal.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monaco said in its prepared remarks that CFIUS is increasingly keeping an eye on transactions that could affect data security, cybersecurity and supply chains.
Monaco also announced on Thursday the launch of its Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which will bring together law enforcement agencies led by the DOJ and the Department of Commerce “to strike back at adversaries.” trying to extract our best technology.”
“The bottom line is that China has made it pretty clear that they are trying to shape and dictate usage and standards around technologies to promote and privileged their interests,” Monaco said. stated in the Q&A section of the event. “Hobbies that don’t match our interests.”
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