Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Florida Politics

Marco Rubio: American Airlines Needs to Drop Partnership With Chinese-Owned TikTok

Share this Story via Text Message, Facebook, X, Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo Mail

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sent a letter to American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker after the airline announced an “innovative partnership” with TikTok.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Mr. Parker:

I write to express concerns over American Airlines new “innovative partnership” with TikTok, which includes offering free, in-flight access to the Chinese-owned video-sharing app that is notorious for its collection of children’s personal information, including phone numbers, locations, and even biometric data.

As you know, in 2019, the U.S. Government launched a national security review of TikTok due to data privacy and data security concerns — a review which remains active to this day. In 2015, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) National Security Law codified a requirement that companies based in the PRC, including ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, provide “necessary support and assistance” to the PRC’s security and intelligence agencies. In 2017, the PRC National Intelligence Law further elaborated on these companies’ legal obligations to comply with all intelligence-gathering operations conducted by the PRC authorities. In other words, any data acquired by TikTok on American citizens is readily available to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its intelligence apparatus.

The nature of the threat is well documented. In addition to America’s ongoing national security review, the mishandling of children’s data is the subject of a legal filing in the United Kingdom and European Union, which accuses TikTok of “sinister” actions. Specifically, the multi-billion dollar legal challenge claims TikTok is nothing more than “a data collection service that is thinly veiled as a social network” that “deliberately and successfully deceived parents.” In June 2020, the Government of India deemed the security risks associated with TikTok to be severe enough to warrant an outright ban on downloading TikTok among other apps created by PRC companies.

Moreover, TikTok continues to actively censor views that are not in line with the PRC Government and CCP directives. Indeed, TikTok’s loyalty to Beijing is not in question. In 2018, ByteDance CEO and founder Zhang Yiming wrote that TikTok “took the wrong path, and content appeared that was incommensurate with socialist core values.”

By partnering with TikTok, American Airlines is now lending its brand credibility to a company that endangers national security and the data security of tens of millions of Americans, many of them minors. I urge you to suspend American Airlines’ “innovative partnership” with TikTok while the U.S. Government completes its investigation into the national security risks posed by the Chinese-owned app.

Author

  • Florida Daily

    Florida Daily offers news, insights and analysis as we cover the most important issues in the state, from education, to business and politics.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<

Ed Dean: Publisher

 

Ed Dean is a leading radio and news media personality including hosting the #1 statewide radio talk show in Florida. Contact Ed.Dean@FloridaDaily.com

You May Also Like

Communications

Data showed that Florida has an average of 4,410 monthly searches per 100k residents for terms involving TikTok.

Business

Share this Story via Text Message, Facebook, X, Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo MailThis week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., doubled down on his bill...

Communications

Share this Story via Text Message, Facebook, X, Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo MailThis week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher,...

Communications

Share this Story via Text Message, Facebook, X, Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo MailTwo members of the Florida delegation–Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S....

Follow us on Social Media