Senator calls on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from App Stores

TikTok is facing more heat from government officials in the United States. On Thursday, a US senator called on Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to remove TikTok from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

“TikTok collects extensive and sophisticated data from its users, including facial and voice prints,” U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, said in a letter to executives on Thursday. “Unlike most social media platforms, TikTok poses a unique concern because Chinese law requires ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, to ‘support, assist and cooperate with state intelligence work’.”

TikTok is facing growing security concerns in the United States. The The FBI called the app a national security threatand the Biden administration reportedly pushed the app’s owners to sell its US business.

“Given these serious and growing concerns, I urge you to immediately remove TikTok from your respective app stores,” Bennett wrote.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew agreed to testify before a House of Representatives committee in March. A TikTok spokesperson previously told CNET that the company welcomes the opportunity to “set the record straight on TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we’re making to address U.S. national security concerns.”

United States governors have bans TikTok from state-run devices and wireless networks on privacy and data security issues. Ohio, New Jersey and Georgia are among the states to ban the app from state-owned devices.

To find out more, see why US states are banning TikTok and what to know about TikTok’s national security concerns.