An App to Spy

TikTok, whose parent company is Chinese technology company ByteDance, was banned from US federal government devices last month under a massive new spending bill signed by Joe Biden, the US president.

Both sides of the House have long expressed concerns about Beijing using the app to spy on Americans or manipulating its algorithm to promote Chinese government narratives.

The company has denied all allegations but among its most vociferous critics is Christopher Wray, the FBI director, who said in December that the popular app could pose an unprecedented threat to US security.