Bill to ban TikTok introduced in the US
Washington DC: A trio of US lawmakers has introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
TikTok has faced doubts about its ability to safeguard US user data from the Chinese government.
The bill proposes "block and prohibit all transactions" in the United States by social media companies with at least one million monthly users that are based in, or under the "substantial influence" of, countries that are considered foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
The bill specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, as social media companies for the purposes of the legislation.
The legislation comes as a wave of states led by Republican governors have introduced state-level restrictions on the use of TikTok on government-owned devices. In the past two weeks, at least seven states have introduced such measures, including Maryland, South Dakota and Utah.
"It's troubling that rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States.”Hilary McQuaide, a spokesperson for TikTok, said in a statement.
TikTok has previously said it doesn't share information with the Chinese government and that a US-based security team decides who can access US user data from China. TikTok has also previously acknowledged that employees based in China can currently access user data.
Already, the US military, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have restricted TikTok from devices under their control.
Source: CNN