FCC Member Calls On Apple, Google to Banish TikTok

Apple and Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

TikTok, which has denied sharing user data with the Chinese government, said earlier this month that traffic for all U.S. user data is now being routed through the cloud infrastructure of its partner

Oracle Corp.

The U.S. military has already banned its members from using TikTok on government-issued devices, citing the security risk.

Former President Donald Trump sought a broad ban on the popular app, but executive actions implementing his order were ultimately blocked by two separate federal-court rulings.

The Biden administration rescinded the Trump executive orders last year and decided not to pursue appeals, instead saying it would study whether TikTok and other apps controlled by foreign adversaries pose a security threat to the U.S.

But since then, the Biden administration has moved cautiously on efforts to tighten federal rules addressing national security risks posed by foreign-owned apps, triggering criticism that the administration isn’t taking the issue seriously.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Carr, a Republican, requested that Apple and Google remove TikTok from their app stores for violating their safety policies. Mr. Carr’s letter, which was earlier reported by CNBC, was dated Friday. He tweeted and emailed about it on Tuesday.

The letter cited a recent report by BuzzFeed, based on leaked audio recordings, that ByteDance officials repeatedly accessed U.S. users’ data.

As one member of the FCC, Mr. Carr has no power to compel action by the two companies. The FCC also has generally steered clear of regulating apps, although it does have broad jurisdiction over communications.

Still, the letter adds to political pressure over TikTok, which has tens of millions of U.S. users.

A number of GOP senators, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and John Thune (R., S.D.), wrote a letter to TikTok this week also raising concerns about the recent report.

Write to John D. McKinnon at [email protected]