The Senate passed a bill aimed at prohibiting federal government employees from downloading or using the TikTok app on government devices. To become an official law, the legislation must also pass the House of Representatives and be signed by the President. The previous incumbent Senate also passed a similar bill, but it did not advance in the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers from both parties have already raised suspicions about Bytedance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok – the world’s most popular app used by two-thirds of US teenagers. The fear is of harming national security, due to the potential transfer of personal information about users to China. TikTok has repeatedly denied the claims. these, and stated that it does not share information about US users with the Chinese government.
Tiktok stated regarding the current bill that it “does nothing to promote the interests of the US in the field of national security.” Senior officials in the Biden administration are simultaneously negotiating with Tiktok senior officials regarding determining measures that will prevent information about American users from reaching China.
Last week, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, banned the use of TikTok on government devices, claiming that the application may be used by China to spy on Americans and senior intelligence officials. Other states in the US have begun taking similar measures. The state of Indiana even filed lawsuits against Tiktok earlier this month, in which it is claimed that the platform deceives consumers about its content and security. Among other things, it is claimed that Tiktok’s algorithm is designed so that children become addicted to it, and promotes harmful content that is not suitable For them, the lawsuit is based on studies and reports that link high use of the platform to disorders among teenagers, including depression and eating disorders. The application is also under a national security review process by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which examines international mergers and acquisitions.