U.S. ‘Looking At’ Banning TikTok and Other Chinese Social Media, Pompeo Says

The United States is “looking at” banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham Tuesday.

“With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too, Laura,” he said in response to Ingraham’s questioning whether the United States should consider such a ban. “I don’t want to get out in front of the President [Donald Trump], but it’s something we’re looking at.”

Pompeo warned that people should only use the short-form video app, which was downloaded 315 million times in the first three months of this year, “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” 

The secretary’s remarks are the latest in a sign of escalating tensions between the United States and China, which have influenced national security, trade, and technology.