FCC Commissioner: ‘TikTok Is China’s Digital Fentanyl’ and They Show a ‘Very Different’ Version in China than in U.S.

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr declared that “TikTok is China’s digital fentanyl” and banning it “is a basic IQ test for the administration.” And China shows a “very, very different” version of the app in China than they do in the U.S.

Carr said, “At the end of the day, TikTok is China’s digital fentanyl. 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. Underneath of it, it operates as a very sophisticated surveillance app. It’s not the videos, but it’s pulling everything from search and browsing history, potentially keystroke patterns, biometrics, including faceprints and voiceprints.”

Co-host Dana Perino then asked, “China only allows people to be on TikTok for 40 minutes a day. So, I recently read in The Washington Post that some people, mostly younger girls, women, teenagers are on the TikTok app for over eight hours a day. And I just wonder, how then, do you ban it, if — as my friend says — the world is run by teenage girls?”

Carr responded, “Look, it’s — to your point, the application, the version of it that is shown in China is very, very different than the one here. And here, they’re doing things like displaying the blackout challenge, specifically to a 10-year-old girl, this was alleged in a court case, and that girl ended up strangling herself to death. So, we’re seeing very different content. … And my view is, given the lack of trust that we have right now in TikTok, that this is a basic IQ test for the administration.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett