SAN FRANCISCO -- The top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance said Friday the Biden administration hasn't given any feedback to the company since TikTok's CEO testified in Congress last week.
Leaders at the FBI, CIA and officials at other government agencies have warned that ByteDance could be forced to give user data — such as browsing history, IP addresses and biometric identifiers — to Beijing under a 2017 law that compels companies to cooperate with the government for matters involving China's national security. Another Chinese law, implemented in 2014, has similar mandates.
"We're investing in a system where people don't have to believe the Chinese government and they don't have to believe us," Andersen said."Where are we falling short here?" he said."At some point you get beyond the cybersecurity risk assessment, etcetera, and you get to 'We don't like your nationality.'"
TikTok maintains it has never been requested to turn over any kind of data and won't do so if asked. But whether those promises, or Project Texas, will allow it to stay operating in the U.S. remains to be seen. "They were clear about their point of view back in 2020 timeframe when we faced an existential challenge from executive orders under the Trump administration," Andersen said.