Senator Hawley Urges Biden Administration to Implement Ban on TikTok
In a recent development, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has urged the Biden administration to implement a ban on the popular social media platform TikTok. The senator expressed concerns about the Chinese-owned company’s handling of content related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Hawley sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calling the ongoing conflict a “crucial test case” for TikTok, stating that the platform has the “power to radically distort the world-picture that America’s young people encounter.” He cited a poll that showed 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 believe that Hamas’s actions were justified, which he attributed to the ubiquity of anti-Israel content on TikTok.
The senator also criticized the lack of a full review of the platform by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and highlighted TikTok’s partnership with the Chinese government to surveil Uighur Muslims and censor American user content critical of repression in Xinjiang.
Hawley’s call for a ban on all ByteDance-controlled apps available to U.S. users comes amid new criticism from members of Congress and tech investors who claim the platform is favoring pro-Palestinian content.
The relationship between U.S. officials and TikTok has been contentious in recent years, with multiple state governments and Congress either introducing or implementing bans on government devices due to national security and data privacy concerns. Earlier this year, Senator Hawley introduced legislation that would have implemented a nationwide ban on the social media platform.
The Biden administration has yet to respond to Senator Hawley’s request, but the growing concerns about the platform’s handling of sensitive content could lead to further actions in the near future.
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