On Thursday, a high-ranking official from the Department of Justice warned against TikTok’s use due to security concerns arising from its ownership in China by ByteDance.

Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney General at the DOJ, said that she doesn’t use TikTok, and would not recommend anyone to do so due to these concerns. She was speaking at a Chatham House event about disruptive technologies by nation states.

Monaco referred to “the perils that Chinese companies are subject to Chinese national security law.”

She stated that any company doing business with China could be affected by such rules. These rules require them to hand over data to China for alleged national security reasons.

Monaco stated, “There is a reason that we should be very worried.”

Through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), the DOJ played a part in evaluating TikTok’s continued operations in the U.S. This process will help determine whether the U.S. and TikTok can come to a mutually beneficial risk mitigation agreement that can address national security concerns. According to The Wall Street Journal, these discussions were stalled due to ongoing concerns about the app’s owner as of late last year.

A TikTok spokesperson stated that Project Texas is the name of the company’s effort to restrict access to U.S. user information to a new unit, further away from ByteDance, and with Oracle monitoring and cloud hosting

This keeps U.S. information out of reach of foreign governments.

The spokesperson stated that the proposal agreement, which CFIUS has worked on for almost two years, is the fastest and most comprehensive way to address national security concerns regarding TikTok.

In her prepared remarks, Monaco stated that CFIUS has been increasingly attentive to transactions that could impact data security, cybersecurity, and supply chain integrity.

Monaco also announced Thursday that the Disruptive Tech Strike Force was launched. This will bring together law enforcement officers from the DOJ and Commerce Department to “resist adversaries who are trying to steal our best technology.”

Monaco stated that China is trying to create and promote norms for technologies that advance and privilege their interests, despite our interests not being in line with them.