FBI director warns of unprecedented threat level, urges quitting TikTok
When pressed if China is already exploiting TikTok, Christopher Wray responded, 'What I would say to you is that they are currently attempting to steal our AI and hack American technology every day.'
The United States faces an unparalleled convergence of threats across multiple fronts, the FBI director warned in a recent interview, sounding the alarm over national security risks posed by China's TikTok app.
In a wide-ranging discussion with NBC News aired Tuesday, Christopher Wray said the current threat environment is unlike anything he's encountered in his career, with heightened dangers from adversaries like China, Russia and Iran as well as foreign and domestic terrorism.
"As I look back over my career in law enforcement, I'm hard pressed to come up with a time where I've seen so many different threats all elevated all at the same time," Wray told NBC's Lester Holt.
The FBI chief said the terrorism threat was already "elevated" prior to the attack on Paul Pelosi last October, but has since "gone to a whole other level." He cited a "significant increase" in anti-Semitic threats and violence, particularly amid recent protests on college campuses, though noting the FBI does not monitor protests directly unless there are "specific threats of violence."
Wray also urged Americans to bypass the popular video-sharing app TikTok due to its Chinese ownership, echoing warnings from other officials about potential national security risks.
"TikTok's parent company is beholden to the Chinese government," he said, expressing concerns over data harvesting, content algorithms and software vulnerabilities that could enable "influence operations" and further China's artificial intelligence ambitions.
When pressed if China is already exploiting TikTok, Wray responded bluntly: "What I would say to you is that they are currently attempting to steal our AI and hack American technology every day."
WATCH:
The FBI Director says he sees those in prison or facing trial in January 6 cases not as hostages as President Trump has said, but “criminal defendants”.
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) April 23, 2024
Lester Holt talks to Christopher Wray about that and more. pic.twitter.com/UPvMaU2PEO
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