Donald Trump 'looking at' banning TikTok amid security concerns of Chinese video sharing app

Donald Trump has said he is considering banning the popular video sharing app TikTok.

The US President made the comments as he spoke to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday.

"We're looking at TikTok, we're thinking about making a decision," he said to reporters in the South Lawn before leaving for a day trip to Texas.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin added that the Committee on Foreign Investment which reviews deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security risks, is looking at the Chinese video sharing app.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo also recently said that the Trump administration was “looking at” banning Chinese apps such as TikTok.

TikTok has already been banned in India, with the US also reportedly considering banning the Chinese social media app
NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images

The video sharing app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has insisted that China’s Communist Party does not have access to the personal information of its users.

Reports have suggested US officials were considering putting the hit app's parent company ByteDance on a blacklist restricting US companies such as Apple and Google from offering TikTok to users on their app platforms.

It comes after Joe Biden's presidential campaign banned staffers from using the using TikTok due to security and privacy concerns.

According to Bloomberg, Mr Biden's general counsel Dana Remus ordered staff members to delete the app from their personal and work phones.

Ms Remus' memo also banned staff from trading individual stocks without approval from general counsel.

The Senate is due to vote on a bill that would ban the use of TikTok on all Government-issued devices.

Sponsored by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, the 'No TikTok on Government Devices Act' was passed unanimously by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

TikTok's boss, Kevin Mayer, has insisted that China’s Communist Party does not have access to the personal information of its users.

“Without TikTok, American advertisers would again be left with few choices,” Mr Mayer warned.

“We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda,” he added, in an apparent swipe at Facebook’s rocky balance of advertising and free speech.

“We believe all companies should disclose their algorithms, moderation policies, and data flows to regulators.”

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