Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. is considering a ban on Chinese social media apps, including the wildly popular short video platform TikTok.
In an interview Monday with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Pompeo said people should only download the app if they want their private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing. Though the app has said that it operates independently from the Chinese government, it also claims its data centers are located outside China and not subject to Chinese law.
Pompeo's remarks came hours ahead of an announcement by TikTok that said it would no longer operate the app in Hong Kong.
The company said Tuesday in a statement that it had decided to halt operations "in light of recent events."
TikTok's departure from Hong Kong comes as various social media platforms and messaging apps — including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and Twitter — balk at the possibility of providing user data to Hong Kong authorities.
The social media companies say they are assessing the ramifications of the national security law.
India banned TikTok earlier this month amid a border standoff between Chinese and Indian troops.
