The US government has once more identified TikTok as a potential national security risk. “We have concerns regarding the collection of data from Americans and the potential risk to national security,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday, referring to efforts to ban TikTok in the United States.
The Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives has now introduced a bill that would allow President Joe Biden to ban TikTok in the US. “TikTok is a modern-day Chinese Communist Party Trojan horse used to monitor and exploit Americans’ personal information,” said the committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Michael McCaul.
However, the proposal is not yet law. It must first be voted on in the plenary session of Parliament before it can be submitted to the Senate.
TikTok sees freedom of expression in danger
TikTok said such a law would have a significant negative impact on the freedom of expression of millions of Americans who use TikTok.
The White House banned the social media app, owned by a Chinese company, from government phones on Monday. Similar prohibitions apply to members of the House of Representatives and employees. Several states and the US military have also issued similar regulations in the past.
Beijing criticized the ban. State Department spokeswoman Mao Ning said the US must “end the unjustified repression of relevant companies and create an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for businesses from around the world.”
