FCC member says 'TikTok is China's digital fentanyl'

Federal Communications Commission member Brendan Carr said that TikTok is "China's digital fentanyl" and that the social media platform is "a very sophisticated surveillance app."

"At the end of the day, TikTok is China’s digital fentanyl," Carr, a Republican and one of five FCC commissioners, said Friday on Fox News.

The short-form video app, owned by China-based ByteDance, claims to have over 1 billion users. U.S. teens and children spend an average of 99 minutes a day on TikTok, according to parental control software maker Qustodio.

"A lot of people look at TikTok and they think it’s just a fun application for sharing dance videos or other funny videos, but that’s just the sheep’s clothing" also said Carr, who recently called for a ban on TikTok. "Underneath of it, it operates as a very sophisticated surveillance app."

He also argued: "It’s not the videos, but it’s pulling everything from search and browsing history, potentially keystroke patterns, biometrics, including face prints and voice prints."