TikTok evaluation not in retaliation due to Trump’s Tulsa rally: Keith Krach
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach discusses the importance of having clean data apps and says TikTok is under evaluation as part of a constant evaluation of Americans’ privacy. Transcript of the interview:
Liz Claman: Let’s get now to a Trump administration official who would know a lot about what may happen. A Fox Business exclusive with one of the top experts in the world on Chinese intelligence, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Keith Krach. You’re also a tech CEO from Silicon Valley, having run DocuSign and founding a whole bunch of other companies. Good to have you, sir. First, is the Trump administration gearing up to ban TikTok here in the United States?
Secretary Krach: Well, first of all, Liz, it’s great to be back on your show. I appreciate it. You know, with respect to TikTok, I want to put it in a broader context, and that is we’ve been engaged in a constant evaluation about ensuring that we protect the privacy of American citizens and their information as it transits. And this is part of the clean network program we have in 5G, the Clean Path program, with regard to incoming traffic clean apps, which TikTok would fall under clean data centers, clean cloud, clean carriers. So it doesn’t just relate to one company. And we’ve got to get it right, Liz. And this is not to be taken lightly, because when you look at these apps, you look at the backbone of 5G, it’s laying the groundwork for the Communist Party’s surveillance state. And these apps are an appendage to that. And it’s a way for China actually to extend their great China firewall. So it is a threat to national security.