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Secretary of State: U.S. considering ban on China-based TikTok

TikTok has quickly become a hit among millennials and Generation Z, and has launched to the top of the app store charts alongside Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The app is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.

News 12 Staff

Jul 8, 2020, 12:18 AM

Updated 1,554 days ago

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is considering a ban on Chinese-based social media apps, including TikTok.
TikTok has quickly become a hit among millennials and Generation Z, and has launched to the top of the app store charts alongside Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The app is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.
Pompeo recently said on Fox News that the U.S. government is considering banning the app. He says personal information shared on TikTok could wind up in the hands of the Chinese government.
John Michael, who owns a Woodbury hair salon, says his kids use TikTok, and believes it's always a risk when you put your information online.
"TikTok's just another venue and there's concerns for that, too," says Michael.
When you sign up for TikTok, you enter your email address or log in via Facebook or Google.
Tech expert Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of Lifewire Magazine, says TikTok servers are in the U.S., and data doesn't go to China.
"There is no upside for TikTok to allow the Chinese government to do this. It would destroy the product for its millions of users," says Ulanoff.