Learn those dances now — FBI Director Christopher Wray tells House lawmakers he has concerns about a deal that would allow the Chinese-owned video app TikTok to continue operating in the US https://t.co/sm6dQ5k7lX pic.twitter.com/T3y1hM4qRS

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) November 15, 2022

FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterated the bureau’s longstanding national security concerns about Chinese-owned video app TikTok to lawmakers today and said the agency is sharing its views with officials who are weighing a deal that would allow it to keep operating in the US.

Wray told lawmakers China’s government could use the app to control millions of users’ data or software, and its recommendation algorithm — which determines which videos users will see next — “could be used for influence operations if they so choose.”

“Under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to essentially — and I’m going to shorthand here — basically do whatever the Chinese government wants them to do in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government,” Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee. “That’s plenty of reason by itself to be extremely concerned.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has passed along its concerns to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the government body that’s reviewing the deal.