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The United States Senate has approved legislation that would place a complete ban on accessing TikTok on federal government devices. The restriction comes amid growing concerns over the app’s security and privacy, especially in connection with tensions growing between the U.S government and China’s government.
Those in support of the ban have expressed national security concerns, as user information is known to be shared with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is based in Beijing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hopes to include a TikTok ban on government devices as a part of a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the government until September 30, 2023.
The primary concern with TikTok’s use on government devices is that information shared with the app could be leaked to the Chinese government. There have been recent negotiations between TikTok as a corporation and the United States government over the app’s ability to serve the United States. Various lawmakers have expressed concern, however, as the discussions have been prolonged with apparently little progress.
While the bill approved by the Senate exclusively bans TikTok from government devices, Sen. Marco Rubio has moved towards a more general ban on TikTok. Rubio also hopes to do the same with other social media platforms associated with various U.S foreign adversaries, including but not limited to China, Russia, and North Korea. A few politicians disagree with this proposal, namely Sens. Mark Warner and Josh Hawley. The two latter politicians have accepted agreements to safeguard TikTok user data, as opposed to implementing a complete ban on the platform.
While a national ban of TikTok on government devices has not been formally issued, there are several states in which similar bans already exist. These states include Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Texas, Maryland as well as North and South Dakota.
Although bans on TikTok have grown popular among politicians, there are still difficulties with the practicality of such an idea. TikTok has billions of users who engage with the site each month, and the app has a significant commercial impact. Therefore, there is significant economic interest to maintain that user base and keep the services the app provides going.
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