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TikTok: National security threat or entertainment giant?
The debate over TikTok's future in the US boils down to whether it's harmless entertainment or a serious national security threat, with Congress pushing for its divestment from its Chinese parent company.
Houston - "Any ban on TikTok is not just banning the freedom of expression. You are literally causing huge harm to our national economy.", said California Congressman Robert Garcia, who is among the many voices rising in defense of TIkTok - the on-line platform used by an estimated 170 million Americans.
The trouble is - national security experts have issued a barrage of emphatic warnings about the popular site - insisting it is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and can be manipulated for intelligence gathering and propaganda.
FBI Director Christopher Wray says, "Americans need to ask themselves whether they want to give the Chinese government the ability to control access to their data."
This week an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in the House approved a measure ordering TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest itself of the platform or face an outright ban in the United States.
TikTok’s CEO and many folks who've built online businesses on the platform claim they are unfairly being persecuted by the legislation which now moves to the Senate.