A bill to ban TikTok from government devices, introduced by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, passed the US Senate unanimously. Senators voted in favor of legislation that would ban the TikTok app from all government phones and other devices.
The approval of the law underscores concerns that the app’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, may be sharing information obtained from US users with the Chinese government. Last month, FBI Director Chris Wray warned lawmakers that the Chinese government could use TikTok to launch influence operations or to technically compromise millions of devices.
While the bill aims to ban the installation of TikTok on government devices, it provides exemptions for “law enforcement activities, national security interests and activities, and security researchers.” Hawley called the program a “Trojan horse of the Chinese Communist Party” and said it had no place on government machinery until it completely severed ties with China.
TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said Hawley “put forward a proposal that in no way advances US national security interests.” Oberwetter added, “We hope that instead of continuing down this path, he urges the administration to move forward with a deal that actually addresses the issues.”
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Just a few days ago, Senator Marco Rubio and House Representative Mike Gallagher introduced a separate bill aimed at banning TikTok outright in the US. Unlike Hawley’s bill, their bill also targets all social networks from China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, as well as those influenced by those countries. Rubio criticized the administration for “yet to take any meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok.”
Some states, including Maryland and South Dakota, have already banned TikTok from public buildings. As for Hawley’s bill, it still has to be approved by the US House of Representatives before it becomes law.
The European Commission is investigating the activities of TikTok – the regulator is interested in the transfer of data of EU citizens to China and advertising aimed at teenagers
Source: Engadget
