US Congressmen urge Trump to follow India's footsteps; take strong action against Chinese apps

In a bid to protect the privacy, and ensure safety of American citizens, 25 US Congressmen and Congresswomen have urged US President Donald Trump to take strong action against Communist China Party's "sophisticated espionage campaign" through Chinese-affiliated social media apps including Tik Tok.

In a letter to the President, they pointed out that the country should follow India's lead who took the "extraordinary step" of banning several "Chinese affiliated mobile apps including TikTok due to national security concerns".

Clarification: This letter was signed by a set of 25 US Congressmen and Congresswomen. https://t.co/d2xpGcxWwR

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"US shouldn't trust TikTok or other Chinese-affiliated social media websites/apps to protect Americans' data, privacy or security. We urge you to take strong action to stop CCP's sophisticated espionage campaign against our country&protect our national security," the letter read.

"In June, India took extraordinary step of banning Chinese affiliated-apps,including TikTok, due to national security concerns. CCP's systemic campaign to collect&illicitly transmit user data to Chinese govt is not unique to Indian consumers," the letter added.

They also said that they support Trump administration`s effort to restrict TikTok and other social media sites linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from accessing the US markets."These popular apps` data collection practices, coupled with China`s onerous cybersecurity laws requiring all companies operating in China, including TikTok`s parent company, ByteDance, to share user data with CCP authorities, present a very real threat to U.S. national security. As such, we urge your administration to take decisive action to protect the American people`s privacy and safety," they said in the letter.

They also pointed out that TikTok`s privacy policy for US residents is "upfront about the vast quantity of user data it collects and shares with the CCP"."Furthermore, TikTok`s censorship of user content to advance the CCP`s foreign policy aims is deeply concerning. Leaked documents detail instructions to ban videos on the app that mention Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or banned religious groups," the letter said."Moreover, an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report recently found that ByteDance works closely with the Chinese government to enable human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims by disseminating the CCP`s state propaganda.

It is to be noted that India had banned 59 Chinese mobile apps including popular short video making platform TikTok. 

These apps are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order," the government said. 

In view of the information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order, the  government order said.

The United States and China have locked horns over various issues ever since the pandemic started.

Yesterday, Trump signed the  Hong Kong Autonomy Act--legislation and an executive order authorising sanctions against China for 'its oppressive action against the people of Hong Kong.'

"Today, I signed legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Autonomy Act which I signed this afternoon passed unanimously through Congress," Trump said.

"This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong Kong's freedom. We have all watched what happened, not a good situation. Their freedom and rights have been taken away," he added.

Moreover, the US has decided to stop WHO's funding, accusing the organisation of being China's puppet. The country further blamed China of concealing information about the deadly virus which has spread across the world, killing millions.

(With ANI inputs)