The US House will still have vote on it before it can become a law.
A significant step has been taken in the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, which was presented by Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri). The TikTok app will no longer be accessible on any phones or other devices held by the federal government thanks to a unanimous vote by the US Senate to pass the legislation. Its clearance highlights officials’ worries that the parent business of the app, ByteDance, which is based in China, would give the Chinese government access to data collected from US users. The Chinese government may use TikTok to undertake “influence operations” or to “technically hack” millions of devices, FBI Director Chris Wray warned legislators only last month.
While the bill aims to prohibit the installation of TikTok on government devices, it carves out exceptions for “law enforcement activities, national security interests and activities, and security researchers,” according to Bloomberg. Hawley called the app a “Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party” and said it has no place on government devices until it completely cuts ties with China. Meanwhile, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told Bloomberg that Hawley “has moved forward with… a proposal which does nothing to advance US national security interests.” Oberwetter added: “We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.”
- Facebook redesigns its home feed to emphasize ‘personalized recommendations’ a la TikTok.
- According to a survey, TikTok is the fastest growing source of news for adults in the UK.
Just a few days ago, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) filed a separate bill that aims to ban TikTok in the US completely. Unlike Hawley’s bill, theirs also targets all social media companies in or influenced by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. Rubio criticized the administration for having “yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok.”
Individual states, including Maryland and South Dakota, have already prohibited the installation of TikTok on government devices. As for Hawley’s bill, the US House will still have to approve it before it can become a law.
