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The app, which Congress has already banned from federal
government devices, has come under increasing criticism because
of concern that China's government could use it to harvest data
on Americans or advance Chinese interests.
"No company subject to CCP (Chinese Communist Party) dictates
should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the
American people or curate content to nearly a third of our
population," Bennet wrote in the letter to Alphabet Chief
Executive Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
"Given these risks, I urge you to remove TikTok from your
respective app stores immediately," he wrote.
Prior to Bennet's letter, Republicans have largely led the
charge on TikTok and national security concerns, although
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin previously urged Americans to
stop using the app.
In the House, which is now in Republican hands, the Foreign
Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote this month on a bill
aimed at blocking TikTok's use in the United States, the
committee confirmed.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump attempted to block new
users from downloading TikTok and ban other transactions that
would have effectively prevented TikTok's use in the United
States, but the move was rebuffed by the courts.
For its part, the company says China's government cannot access
the personal data of U.S. citizens or manipulate the app's
content.
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear before the
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee in March.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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