FBI Director Christopher Wray says China could use TikTok to shape the narrative around a possible Taiwan contingency. Wray made the comments during an open hearing of the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. WThe director emphasized that the “sacred” division between the public and private sectors does not exist in China.
The comments come amid increasing scrutiny over the social media platform in the United States. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech company Bytedance. The platform is already banned on US government devices. Taiwanese officials are also mulling a TikTok ban.
In a later hearing, Senators in the committee submitted draft legislation which would give the government the ability to regulate social media platforms like TikTok. The bill, known as the RESTRICT Act, would allow the Commerce Department to regulate software and hardware services from countries designated as “foreign adversaries.”
Six countries are specifically named in the bill, including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement praising the bill, saying it would prevent risks to national security posed by the use of technology influenced by foreign governments.