Name: TikTok: The complete guide to why its all over the headlines
Uploaded: 2020-07-14
Duration: 3 min 29 s
Description: Fortune’s Devin Hance outlines the viral app's latest controversies.

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: TikTok, the viral video sharing app, and one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world. Its biggest fans seem to be from Gen Z. How often would you say you use TikTok a day? SPEAKER 2: Like six or seven hours. SPEAKER 1: OK. And how many videos have you made on the app? SPEAKER 2: I've made over 800 videos. I've made 850, to be exact. SPEAKER 1: But there's growing controversy surrounding the app. JOSH HAWLEY: TikTok just does not want to answer questions under oath. SPEAKER 3: It collects your search history. It collects your keystrokes. BRYAN WARE: That should give us great concern. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE: Make the public know what the hazards are here. SPEAKER 1: TikTok is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing. That's raised concerns that China can access and abuse TikTok's user data. The US launched a national security investigation of ByteDance in November. And although it likely would be tough to put off, US officials are threatening to ban the app altogether. MICHAEL POMPEO: We're certainly looking at it. We've worked on this very issue for a long time, whether it was the problems of having Huawei technology in your infrastructure. We've gone all over the world and we're making real progress getting that out. With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you, the United States will get this one right too, Laura. I don't want to get-- I do want to get in front of the president, but it's something we're looking at. SPEAKER 1: TikTok's response-- President Trump also raised the possibility of banning TikTok but his reasons are slightly different. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: Secretary Pompeo has talked about possibly any TikTok in this country. China-- DONALD TRUMP: It's something we're looking at, yes. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: Why would you ban it? DONALD TRUMP: Well, it's a big business. China-- look what happened with China with this virus. What they've done to this country and to the entire world is disgraceful. And we are looking at numerous different things. TikTok's one of them. One of many. SPEAKER 1: India, which was TikTok's largest market banned the app in June. And Australia is also considering doing the same thing. Partially in hopes of reassuring critics, TikTok pulled out of Hong Kong after passage of a new national security law. The law compels social media apps to hand over user data to Beijing. But regardless of this, US officials still remain skeptical. And when asked if US users should continue using the app, this was Pompeo's response. MICHAEL POMPEO: Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. SPEAKER 2: I'm definitely not going to stop using TikTok at this point. Like it's just a normal thing for me to do and I love it. SPEAKER 1: And that seems to be the popular consensus. [MUSIC PLAYING] 

Fortune’s Devin Hance outlines the viral app's latest controversies.

TikTok: The complete guide to why its all over the headlines

Tech

TikTok: The guide to why its all over the headlines

Fortune’s Devin Hance outlines what you need to know.