Commerce Sec’y Raimondo: We Shouldn’t Ban TikTok, Its Issues ‘Aren’t Just Limited to TikTok’

During an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo opposed a ban on TikTok and argued that the issues that make the app a problem, like the app being Chinese-owned and its issues around privacy and misinformation, “aren’t just limited to TikTok.”

Bloomberg Washington Bureau Chief Peggy Collins asked, [relevant exchange begins around 5:35] “[Y]ou say you don’t think a law banning a single company is the way to go to deal with an issue like a company like that. So, if not a ban, what would you do, what’s your plan?”

Raimondo responded, “So, I think the issues that make TikTok problematic — although TikTok is perhaps the biggest of these companies — aren’t just limited to TikTok. So, if what we’re worried about is Chinese-backed companies being on tens of millions of American phones — including members of the military — and privacy concerns, data concerns, misinformation concerns, that doesn’t just apply to TikTok. So, I think — I know many members of the Senate, Sen. Warner (D-VA), Sen. Rubio (R-FL) — there [are] a number of members of the U.S. Senate who are thinking hard about what’s the right way to protect American national security, American privacy, American data, and we’re working with them.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett