TikTok's Spy Concerns and Congressional Embarrassment

As the US considers banning TikTok over concerns of Chinese spying, lawmakers are also weighing the renewal of powers that allow US intelligence agencies to carry out warrantless spying on non-US citizens located overseas. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows for this, and the US government uses US tech companies that effectively control the global internet to spy on everyone else. While US citizens have some protections against warrantless searches, the US government has maintained that these rights do not extend to foreigners overseas, giving agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) practically free rein to snoop on their communications.