London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

US senators urge Justice Department to investigate Zoom and Tiktok’s ties to Beijing

Richard Blumenthal, Democrat, and Josh Hawley, Republican, accuse the popular apps of ‘hiding vulnerable ties and dependencies on China’. Representatives from both companies deny any sharing of data with Chinese authorities

Two US senators appealed to the Justice Department to investigate both the video conferencing tool Zoom and the social media platform TikTok for allegedly disclosing private information about their users to the Chinese government.

In a letter to Assistant Attorney General John Demers, Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, accused the two popular online apps of “hiding vulnerable ties and dependencies on China”.



“We are extremely concerned that Zoom and TikTok have disclosed private information about Americans to the [People’s Republic of China] and engaged in censorship on behalf of the Chinese government,” said Blumenthal and Hawley, both vocal supporters of legislation aimed at countering Beijing.

“As tens of millions of Americans turn to Zoom and TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic, few know that the privacy of their data and their freedom of expression is under threat due to the relationship of these companies to the Chinese government,” the letter said.

“Zoom and TikTok have sought to conceal and distract from their meaningful ties to China, holding themselves out as American companies,” the letter added. “This concealment is alarming – Chinese tech firms are notoriously bound to draconian intelligence laws, media regulations and extrajudicial pressure that compels them to censor and spy for China’s state security services.”

Representatives from both companies denied any sharing of data with Chinese authorities.

The appeal to Demers by the two senators follows confirmation by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday that TikTok is undergoing a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, also known as CFIUS.

Zoom’s engagement with the Chinese government came to a head last month, after the company closed an account opened by exiled dissidents in the US, who used the platform to host a forum about Beijing’s military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square 31 years earlier. The Zoom event on May 31 involved participants dialling in from China to listen to the testimonies of people tied to the events of June 4, 1989.

Following media reports about the closure, Zoom reactivated the account and issued a clarification about its move.

“We will do better as we strive to make Zoom the most secure and trusted way to bring people together. Going forward Zoom will not allow requests from the Chinese government to impact anyone outside mainland China,” the company said on June 11, adding that it was making changes that would enable removal or blockage at the participant level based on geography.

“This will enable us to comply with requests from local authorities when they determine activity on our platform is illegal within their borders; however, we will also be able to protect these conversations for participants outside those borders where the activity is allowed,” it said.

Zoom Video Communications is headquartered in San Jose, California. The company's founder and chief executive, Eric Yuan, is a Chinese-born American.

Responding to a query by the South China Morning Post about the senators’ letter to the Justice Department, a company representative said that “Zoom is an American company, founded and headquartered in California, incorporated in Delaware, and publicly traded on Nasdaq.

“We take user privacy, security, and trust extremely seriously, and as always, we welcome conversations with officials about our global business practices and policies.”

A representative for TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, responding to a query about the Blumenthal/Hawley letter, said that "our content and moderation policies are led by our US-based team in California and aren't influenced by any foreign government, and we publish information about how our recommendation system works”.

The representative added: “TikTok US user data is stored in the US with a backup in Singapore with strict controls on employee access. We've never shared TikTok user data with the Chinese government, and would not do so if asked. Period."




Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×