US Senate passes bill to ban TikTok on federal government devices
After several US states banned TikTok, the US Senate just unanimously passed a bill banning the Chinese social media app on government devices.
The bill, called the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, was authored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
“TikTok is a Trojan horse for the Chinese Communist Party. “It is a significant risk to the security of the United States, and until it is forced to completely sever ties with China, it has no place in government structures,” Senator Hawley said in a statement. “US states are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and Democrats to help do the same.”
Earlier this month, FBI Director Chris Wray warned that TikTok could be used to “influence operations.” Utah, Texas and Maryland have since passed similar bills..
While the main goal of the new bill is to “Prohibit certain persons from downloading or using TikTok on any device issued by the United States or a government corporation,” the bill is also quite forward-looking, covering “TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited or an entity owned by ByteDance Limited.”
ByteDance is the Chinese owner of the platform.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that lawmakers were still working with the White House on the language used in the bill.
TikTok has responded to the bill as expected.
“Once again, Senator Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal that does nothing to advance the national security interests of the United States,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.
““We hope that, rather than continuing down that path, you will urge the administration to move toward an agreement that truly addresses your concerns.”
This is the second bill of this type to be passed in the Senate. Although the first, also supported by Senator Hawley, also passed the House, it has not yet become law.
Fellow Republican Senator Marco Rubio is the author of a similar bill.
“The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok,” Rubio said in a statement.
“This isn’t about creative videos, this is an app that collects data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day.”
