FCC Commissioner Calls on Apple and Google to Remove TikTok From App Stores

Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr has called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores.

Carr posted his letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Twitter.

I am writing the two of you because Apple and Google hold themselves out as operating app stores that are safe and trusted places to discover and download app.s Nonetheless, Apple and Google have reviewed and approved the TikTok app for inclusion in your respective app stores. Indeed, statistics show that TikTok has been downloaded in the U.S. from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store nearly 19 million times in the first quarter of this year alone. It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to its extensive data harvesting being combined with Beijing's apparently unchecked access to that sensitive data. But it is also clear that TikTok's pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive U.S. user data - just some of which is detailed below - puts i t out of compliance with the policies that both of your companies require every app to adhere to as a condition of remaining available on your app stores. Therefore, I am requesting that you apply the plain text of your app stores policies to TikTok and remove it from your app stores for failure to abide by those terms.


TikTok is not what it appears to be on the surface. It is not just an app for sharing funny videos or memes. That's the sheep's clothing. At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data. Indeed, TikTok collects everything from search and browsing histories to keystroke pattens and biometric identifiers, including faceprints - which researchers have said might be used in unrelated facial recognition technology - and voice points. It collects location data as well as draft messages and metadata, plus it has collected the text, images, and videos that are stored on a device's clipboard. The list of personal and sensitive data it collects goes on from there. This should come as no surprise, however. Within its own borders, the PRC has developed some of the most invasive and omnipresent surveillance capabilities in the world to maintain authoritarian control.

Notably, President Trump had signed an executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell or spin off its U.S. TikTok business. That order was revoked by President Biden when he took office.

You can read the full letter below...