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Tags: sen. tom cotton | tik tok

Sen. Cotton: TikTok Is a Trojan Horse on Your Phone

the tiktok logo is seen with the american flag in the background
(Oliver Douliery/Getty Images)

By    |   Monday, 03 August 2020 03:23 PM EDT

TikTok may appear to be a harmless, fun video-sharing app, but in reality it is “a Trojan horse on your phone” by which the Chinese government can steal all your data, Sen. Tom Cotton told Fox & Friends on Monday.

The Arkansas Republican explained that TikTok “vacuums up all the data, the contacts, the emails, the text messages, the photos, the location data, your facial recognition software, even the keystrokes on your phone, it sends that back to Chinese servers, which are always susceptible to access by the Chinese Communist Party.”

He emphasized it "is a real risk for America’s families, America’s kids. In some ways, we won’t even know, because they’ll have that data for decades ahead.”

Cotton made the comments as TikTok executives have been in talks to prevent the Trump administration from banning the app.

In addition, Microsoft confirmed it is in discussions to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations and that it "fully appreciates the importance of addressing the president's concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States."

Regarding the potential deal, Cotton said “there can be no ties whatsoever between a new U.S.-based TikTok” and China.

When asked why China would be interested in selling to another company if TikTok is able to get so much information on Americans, Cotton said that “ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, recognizes that Donald Trump is serious about protecting Americans . . . and they don’t want to see one of their largest markets simply cut off and therefore they’re willing to cut losses and try to get as much money as they can.”

Brian Freeman

Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.

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TikTok may appear to be a harmless, fun video-sharing app, but in reality it is “a Trojan horse on your phone” by which the Chinese government can steal all your data, Sen. Tom Cotton told Fox & Friends on Monday.
sen. tom cotton, tik tok
278
2020-23-03
Monday, 03 August 2020 03:23 PM
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