World / US parties Democratic and Republican warn staff not to use TikTok app

Business Insider : Jul 14, 2020, 04:03 PM
New York: Both major US political parties have warned their staff members not to use TikTok, the wildly popular social app that's owned and operated by the Chinese company ByteDance, CNN reports.

Representatives for both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee cited security concerns with TikTok as the reason, as critics have suggested the app could be used as a data-collection tool for the Chinese government.

"The RNC has advised employees and stakeholders to not download the TikTok app on their personal devices," the RNC's national press secretary, Mandi Merritt, told CNN. Merritt pointed to "security concerns" as the reason for the advisory.

Similarly, the DNC warned staff back in December about TikTok.

"If you are using TikTok for campaign work, we recommend using a separate phone and account," a memo obtained by CNN said. The memo reportedly warned DNC staff members about both TikTok and a Russian app named FaceApp.

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