US Senate approves bill banning TikTok from government devices
The No TikTok on Government Devices Act was introduced Senator Josh Hawley (R. Missouri) just reached a significant milestone. Senators from the United States have a history of cooperation. unanimously voted To approve the bill, which will ban TikTok on all government-owned smartphones and other devices, Approval of the bill highlights authorities’ concern that ByteDance, the parent company of the app based in China, could share data gathered from US users with China’s government. Chris Wray, FBI Director, was just last month. warned TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to launch “influence operations” and “technically compromise millions of devices,” according to lawmakers.
Although the bill is designed to ban TikTok installation on government devices it also provides exceptions for “law enforcement, national security interests, and activities” according to Bloomberg. Hawley called it a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party and said that it should not be on government devices unless it cuts all ties to China. Meanwhile, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told Bloomberg Hawley “has advanced with… a proposal that does nothing to advance US security interests.” Oberwetter stated: “We hope, rather than continuing on that road, that he will urge administration to move forward in an agreement that would actually address our concerns.”
Just a few short days ago, Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Mike Gallagher (both R-FL) announced their intention to merge. filed a separate bill It aims to ban TikTok completely in the US. They also target all social media companies influenced by China or Russia, Iran, North Korea, North Korea, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. This bill is not like Hawley. Rubio criticised the administration for not taking “any single meaningful action” to protect American users against the threat from TikTok.
Maryland is one of the individual states. South DakotaTikTok is currently prohibited on government devices in the following states: The US House must approve Hawley’s bill before it can be made a law.