Robert O’Brien who is National Security Advisor of United States reported that if US and countries of Europe take stand like India regarding the ban of Chinese apps, then China would no longer have a major surveillance instrument in those countries.
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US likely to follow India and ban TikTok
The Indian government banned a total of 59 Chinese apps. The authority said that those applications posed threats to national security, integrity, and can be detrimental to jurisdiction.
Robert O’Brien talking to Fox News radio said that the United States government was significantly monitoring WeChat, TikTok, along with several other Chinese apps.
China can lose its spy instrument if Europe ban their apps
The US National Security Advisor said that China could lose an important surveillance instrument if the “Chinese app ban” movement happens in the United States as well as Europe. The Communist Party of China would be deprived of its espionage system severely if countries in Europe take the same stand as India.
US asks to look at alternative options of TikTok
TikTok has a huge craze among both kids and adults alike. There are many celebrities on the platform and they should have alternatives if banned. O’Brian talked about other alternatives of the TikTok. There are other few apps that can also be fun enough rather than using the Chinese application.
TikTok uses facial identification of its users and works like a spying tool. He warned the users that the Chinese company can take their personal, confidential, and innermost information. TikTok has the capability to track every movement of a user.
How China extracts personal information
Robert O’Brien also said that the data collected by the app goes to the Chinese cloud in the supercomputers. China could extract every personal data, even the biometrics of the users. The users must be very cautious before using this app.
The US government keeps close tabs on TikTok, WeChat, and several Chinese applications. China has been extracting personal data of the people of the United States for a long time now.
Robert O’Brien said that China would consume those intimate data from TikTok, WeChat, or some other Chinese apps for no cost. Users generally give their information to those apps unknowingly. Using TikTok app and sharing personal details like passwords, pin codes, card details through other apps can be risky too.
Marriott’s system got hacked and took credit rating details
According to Robert O’Brien Chinese government had hacked Marriott’s system. They took a huge amount of data from their customers and employees. That information includes passport numbers as well.
China also had hacked the credit rating agencies of Europe as well to extract confidential credit rating information. The Chinese also got their hands on the anthem healthcare’s medical information illegally.
The country’s government didn’t do this hacking just to know what your choices of car were and sell it accordingly. China was extracting every data which could be private. According to this information, China would track everything about the users. The Chinese Communist government rated their people with social credit scores to judge their loyalty to the ruling party.
China has the capacity to get the social credit scores of people in the United States and all the other countries. Artificial intelligence will be an important tool to facilitate these data. Robert O’Brien said that the Trump administration had been looking into this matter and taking all the measures to prevent it.
US government may ban TikTok
Mike Pompeo who is Secretary of State of the United States said that the White House was considering the possibility of banning social media applications and other applications of China. TikTok is very high on that ban list as it has a wide reach.
The United States and China are facing problems with their bilateral relationship for some time now. Now the devastating COVID-19 pandemic also put fuel into this “not so amicable situation” between both countries. The comments on the Chinese application ban came in these tough situations. There is also Beijing’s National Security Law imposition in Hong Kong. This new development of China has not gone down well with the Trump government.