Trump consultant Navarro calls TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer an ‘American puppet’

White Space business consultant Peter Navarro dubbed TikTok’s new CEO Kevin Mayer, an “American puppet” for running on the Chinese language-owned social media app, in an interview with Fox Trade on Sunday.

Navarro extensively utilized the interview to double down on accusations that Chinese language apps are amassing knowledge on American citizens and handing that over to Beijing. He additionally mentioned to be expecting “robust motion” from President Donald Trump on TikTok and different Chinese language apps.

TikTok has been within the cross-hairs of Washington for some months. However power on TikTok, which is owned via Beijing-based Bytedance, rose remaining week when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned the federal government is “taking a look at” banning the viral app.  

The Trump management maintains that TikTok and different Chinese language apps accumulate numerous knowledge from American customers and ship that again to China, accusations repeated via Navarro. 

“What the American folks have to know is the entire knowledge that is going into the ones cellular apps that youngsters have such a lot a laugh with and appear so handy, it is going proper to servers in China, proper to the Chinese language army, the Chinese language Communist Celebration, and the companies that need to thieve our highbrow belongings,” Navarro informed Fox.

“The ones apps can be utilized to thieve private and monetary knowledge for blackmail and extortion, they are able to be used to thieve trade highbrow belongings and proprietary secrets and techniques.” 

The Ministry of Business and Knowledge Era was once no longer in an instant to be had for remark when contacted via CNBC.

Navarro additionally discussed WeChat, China’s greatest messaging app which is owned via generation large Tencent. 

“TikTok and WeChat are the most important types of censorship at the Chinese language mainland, and so be expecting robust motion on that,” he alleged. 

TikTok does no longer perform inside of mainland China. As a substitute, ByteDance runs an overly identical product known as Douyin.

After bringing up that India banned a number of Chinese language apps, Navarro mentioned: “TikTok, WeChat, I believe the president is simply getting began with the ones two,” with out elaborating if that supposed a ban was once coming. 

In accordance with Navarro’s feedback, a TikTok spokesperson mentioned protective the privateness of its customers’ knowledge is a “crucial precedence.” 

“Our Leader Knowledge Safety Officer has many years of business and US regulation enforcement revel in. TikTok’s mother or father is a privately owned corporate sponsored via some the best-known US buyers, which dangle 4 of its 5 board seats,” a TIkTok spokesperson informed CNBC. 

“TikTok is loved via customers all the way through the arena, however the app isn’t even to be had in China. As we’ve mentioned many times, we’ve by no means shared TikTok consumer knowledge with the Chinese language executive, and would no longer achieve this if requested. Duration.”

Tencent declined to remark. 

TikTok has confronted accusations of censorship up to now however has denied that it eliminates “content material in keeping with sensitivities round China or different governments.” With regard to privateness, TikTok has up to now mentioned that U.S. consumer knowledge is saved in the US, with a backup in Singapore. The app additionally mentioned that it has “by no means equipped consumer knowledge to the Chinese language executive” nor would it not achieve this if requested. 

In the meantime, services and products running at the Chinese language mainland, together with WeChat, continuously censors posts and messages which are deemed delicate to the Chinese language executive. 

For its phase, TikTok has been looking to distance itself from its Chinese language mother or father corporate. 

ByteDance employed former Disney government, Kevin Mayer, to be TikTok’s CEO previous this 12 months. His precedence was once noticed as rebuilding accept as true with with regulators. 

However Navarro criticized the rent, calling Mayer an “American puppet” and announcing that the tactic of hanging a U.S. citizen in rate is “no longer going to paintings.” 

TikTok was once no longer in an instant to be had for remark particularly at the remarks relating to Mayer. 

The White Space business consultant additionally mentioned that any plans to spin-off TikTok into an American corporate would additionally no longer be recommended to the U.S.

“If TikTok, if it separates as an American corporate, that does not assist us as a result of … we are going to have to provide China billions of greenbacks for the privilege of getting TikTok perform on U.S. soil,” Navarro mentioned.