FBI Director Wray again warns of national security threat TikTok poses

FBI Director Christopher Wray addressed the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday and repeated his warnings that social media platform TikTok poses a national security risk to the United States.

Wray indicated that ByteDance, the app's Beijing-based parent company, was susceptible to the Chinese government's data requests, given it is subject to Chinese law, and that likely Chinese access to the app's user data stood as one of the main concerns.

"I think the most fundamental piece... that I think Americans need to understand, is something that's very sacred in our country: the difference between the private sector and the public sector," Wray told Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, per The Hill. "That's a line that is nonexistent in the way the CCP operates."

Wray also contended that the app's popularity among young Americans should not factor into lawmaker considerations on a nationwide ban of the platform.

"I guess my point is that just to tie it all up, [TikTok] is a substantial national security threat for the country of a kind that we didn't face in the past," he concluded.

Concerns over the app's potential risks have led to a cavalcade of statewide bans and a number of federal restrictions on use of TikTok via federal devices.

In late February, the White House ordered holders of government devices to remove the app from them within 30 days.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.