CIA Finds ‘No Evidence’ Chinese Government Has Accessed TikTok Data, Report Says

TOPLINE

The CIA concluded there is “no evidence” Chinese intelligence services have ever accessed data from TikTok, the New York Times reported Friday, after the White House took steps to ban the app in the U.S. over national security and privacy concerns.

KEY FACTS

Key background

 Trump on Thursday night signed an executive order that effectively bans TikTok and social media app WeChat in 45 days unless they are sold to American companies. The move was part of a broader effort from the White House for a “clean network” seeking to purge Chinese companies from U.S. internet and telecommunications infrastructure. 

Chief critics

Human rights groups and media outlets have found evidence that China uses technology to surveil Uighur Muslims and heavily censors the Internet domestically, adding to U.S. concerns about China potentially abusing data. But some have noted a level of hypocrisy since U.S. intelligence agencies have well-developed surveillance capabilities and for-profit companies have outfitted Americans with a range of privacy-violating apps, wrote Sam Biddle in the Intercept.