During a portion of an interview with CBS set to air on Sunday’s “60 Minutes” that was released on Friday’s “CBS Evening News,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that there is a real national security issue with TikTok, and “there are a number of ways” that “that concern, if it’s found to be significant, could be addressed.”
Host Norah O’Donnell asked, “For parents of teenagers that spend a lot of time on TikTok, what are those legitimate national security concerns?”
Yellen responded, “Well, it’s that private information could potentially end up in Chinese hands and used in ways that would negatively impact Americans. And there are a number of ways in which that could be — that concern, if it’s found to be significant, could be addressed.”
O’Donnell then asked, “I feel like we’re dancing around the issue with TikTok. I mean, what is it about — that China could do with my teenager and the type of videos that they’re looking at if they’re looking at silly pet videos, why does — why is that a national security concern?”
Yellen responded, “Well, they have access to a lot of data on your teenager from the information that they collect while your teenager is online.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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