Banning mobile applications such as TikTok by countries like India takes a big tool away from the surveillance work of China, a top White House official said on Tuesday. The Trump administration is "very seriously taking a look" at TikTok, WeChat and some other apps coming out of China, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien told Fox News Radio in an interview. "India has already banned those apps, as you know. And if they lose India and the United States, they lose some western European countries, that takes a big tool away from the espionage work or the surveillance work of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)," he said in response to a question on the dangers posed by apps like TikTok.

"The kids who are using TikTok -- and it can be a lot of fun -- but there are a lot of other social media platforms they could use. TikTok is getting facial recognition on you," O'Brien said. "They are getting all of your personal, private data, your most intimate data. They are getting to know who your friends are, who your parents are. They can map all your relationships," he added.