AMERICANS should be as concerned about the power social media apps like TikTok give the Chinese government as they are about their nuclear capabilities, whistleblower Ashley Yabon has said.
Yabon found himself a target of both China and Iran when he rang the alarm about Iran violating US sanctions while serving as general counsel for ZTE, one of the world's largest telecom companies.
In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, Yabon said that as someone with experience with Chinese companies, he was immediately concerned when he realized how big TikTok had become in the US.
"Red flags went off because I know from my experience with China, especially with ZTE and Huawei," he said.
"Both of those companies have what we call back doors, where they can access information that you put on your phone."
This access to the information Americans store in their phones could potentially be as dangerous in modern warfare as a nuclear weapon, Yabon explained.
"They're gathering all this information, and they're having access to all this information. The concern is what are they gonna do with it?" he added.
Yabon told The U.S. Sun that while American and other western tech companies may also have access to users' private information, these companies are independent and not tied to the US government.
In comparison, Yabon pointed out, Chinese companies are subject to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which means they could be weaponized in a conflict.
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