(Bloomberg) — Brendan Carr, a Republican member of Federal Communications Commission, said Chinese social media giant TikTok should be banned in the US.
(Bloomberg) — Brendan Carr, a Republican member of Federal Communications Commission, said Chinese social media giant TikTok should be banned in the US.
Carr, speaking on Bloomberg TV on Monday, cited the possibility of data flows to China that could compromise national security.
The FCC lacks jurisdiction over the matter and Carr, whose party lacks control of the commission, couldn’t do much to prevent the company from operating in the US. Other agencies are mulling restrictions on the app, however. Carr has been critical of the company for months. TikTok is a division of Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd.
The FCC is considering other initiatives, such as restricting the sale of telecommunications gear from China over data privacy concerns. Carr said he supported that as well.
Carr also said he wants the social media app Twitter, now owned by billionaire Elon Musk, to protect political speech on its platform. The regulator said he thinks the government might have to intervene to accomplish that.
“I don’t think we need to rely on just the benevolence of Elon Musk or any other billionaire,” Carr said. “I do think we should put regulations in place that are going to protect political speech in the digital town square.”
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