U.S. Lawmakers Unveil Legislation Proposing TikTok Ban

Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced bipartisan legislation to ban China's popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance Ltd. amid fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content, Alexandra Alper reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok's US operations raise national security concerns, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.

The legislation would block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, Rubio's office said in a news release, adding that a companion bill in the US House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Chinese firms operating in the US are known to have branches of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that exercise political control even of private businesses. Chinese President Xi Jinping also mandated these party branches to report to the military hierarchy in Beijing.

"It is troubling that rather than encouraging the administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the US," a TikTok spokesperson said.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) ordered ByteDance in 2020 to divest TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed on to China's government. CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for months aiming to reach a deal to protect the data of TikTok's more than 100 million users.

The bill comes as scrutiny of TikTok has grown in Washington in recent weeks after a failed bid by the Trump administration to ban the app. At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok's US operations raise national security concerns, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.

Alabama and Utah on Monday joined other US states prohibiting the use of TikTok on state government devices and computer networks due to national security concerns.

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