Two U.S. senators will file legislation this week that would pave the way for the government to “ban or prohibit” foreign technology businesses in the United States—including the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said.
According to Warner, the proposed legislation would state that “in terms of foreign technology coming into America, we’ve got to have a systemic approach to make sure we can ban or prohibit it when necessary.”
He compared the content that TikTok offers young users in China to that which the application pushes to users in America.
“If you look at what TikTok shows to the Chinese kids, which is all about science and engineering, versus what our kids see, there’s a radical difference,” he said.
Warner declared that he would submit the bill this week alongside Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). A representative for Warner stated that an announcement was anticipated for March 7.
Bipartisan Efforts to Purge TikTok
TikTok has long been the subject of congressional scrutiny due to its ties to the CCP and its alleged practice of sending user data to the servers of its parent company, ByteDance, in China.There have been ongoing legal efforts to purge the popular Chinese app from the devices of members of Congress and employees of the executive branch of the U.S. government.
“Today, OMB is releasing guidance on implementation of the ‘No TikTok on Government Devices Act,’ requiring agencies to cease using the app except in select circumstances,” the agency wrote.
OMB Director Shalanda Young issued the guidance to all federal agencies, requiring them to prohibit internet traffic from reaching the Chinese-owned company as part of the purge.
According to an OMB document, agencies have 90 days to remedy any TikTok usage by IT suppliers under contracts. They also have to add a new TikTok ban to all new solicitations within 120 days.
The memo states that while specific applications of the software on government devices, such as those related to security research, law enforcement, or national security may be allowed, broad exclusions from the rule for entire agencies wouldn’t be allowed.
Furthermore, agency leaders must approve any such activity, according to the memo.
He described TikTok as “a spy balloon into your phone.”
“Currently, the courts have questioned the administration’s authority to sanction TikTok. My bill empowers the administration to ban TikTok or any software applications that threaten U.S. national security,” McCaul said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“And make no mistake—TikTok is a security threat. It allows the CCP to manipulate and monitor its users while it gobbles up Americans’ data to be used for their malign activities,” he continued. “Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information.”
Ban in Multiple Countries
India, Taiwan, the European Union, and several U.S. states have already ordered similar bans. Canada also announced a ban earlier on March 6.“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission.”