US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirms TikTok under national security review

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, on July 29, said that Chinese app TikTok was under national security review and his agency would make a recommendation to the US President this week. TikTok has been under vigilance for a long time, however, this marked the first time that US authorities have acknowledged that it was under review by Committee on Foreign investment in the US  (CFIUS).

 “TikTok is under CFIUS review. We will be making a recommendation to the president this week so we have lots of alternatives,” Mnuchin said.

On the other hand, TikTok has yet not commented on the matter, however, it added that the company was working to create “best in class security infrastructure”. The review could force Byte dance to unwind the deal or chose other ways to mitigate the threat, international media reported. Meanwhile, President Trump, said that “they were looking at TikTok” before he left for Texas for campaigning. 

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No TikTok act passed

Recently, the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved the 'No TikTok on Government Devices Act', which will now go on the US Senate floor for a vote. The bill would restrict federal employees from using TikTok on government-issued devices. The bill was brought in by Senator Josh Hawley amid growing fear of security threat posed by the Chinese-owned app.

US lawmakers fear that the personal data of millions of American citizens could fall into the hands of the Communist nation, where private companies are strictly regulated and are required to share information with the government. The bill was passed unanimously on July 22 by the Senate Committee. 

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