The United States government has welcomed a bill that would allow it to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. The legislation called Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act, was introduced by Senators Mark Warner and John Thune, from the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. The bipartisan bill would empower the US government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services that pose risks to Americans' sensitive data and national security. This comes after US government workers were banned from installing the app on their devices in January, and TikTok is also the target of a separate piece of legislation in the US House of Representatives.
TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, has more than a billion users worldwide, including over 100 million in the US, where it has become a cultural force, particularly among young people. However, concerns have been raised over the potential for TikTok to enable surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party, or facilitate the spread of malign influence campaigns in the US. Senator Warner stated that TikTok is just the latest in a line of threats to national security, following companies such as Huawei, ZTE, and Kaspersky Lab.
While some have likened a US ban to a "ban on the export of American culture and values," TikTok has pointed to its negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which assesses foreign investments' risks to US national security. However, Congress and the White House are aligned on the idea that a law is necessary to curb the app's powers, and the chances of the legislation making it into law are greatly increased. Civil servants in the European Union, Canada, and Denmark are also barred from having TikTok on their phones.
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