The Senate has voted unanimously to pass a piece of legislation that would ban the use of TikTok from government devices as national security concerns continue to grow over the Chinese-owned social media app. This is an excellent move, as there has indeed been a bunch of shady business with this particular platform that has led many to believe that the Chinese Communist Party is using it as a means of gathering intelligence on our country.
The legislation, known as the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, was originally introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and passed on Wednesday.
“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” Hawley said in a statement that was released on Thursday. “States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.”
Tonight the Senate unanimously passed my bill to BAN TikTok on all government devices
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 15, 2022
The bill now moves on to the House of Representatives. If it passes there, it will land on the desk of President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
According to the Daily Wire, “FBI Director Christopher Wray noted TikTok’s security concerns during a speech at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy earlier this month.”
“All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States. That should concern us,” Wray stated.
“The Senate action comes as several states have banned TikTok from state-issued devices. The Daily Wire previously noted the three most recent states to take precautions against TikTok, with separate orders announced Tuesday and Wednesday by the governors of Alabama, Iowa, and North Dakota,” the report continued.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a member of the GOP, was the very first state leader to take action against TikTok by banning it on government devices in his state back in August 2020. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem also a Republican followed suit, with several additional Republican led states also coming on board with the idea.
“Other states that have enacted likeminded TikTok bans include Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. At least ten states now have bans in place, with others considering similar policies,” the report added.
But there are a group of lawmakers in Congress who don’t think we should stop with just government devices, supporting a nationwide ban of the app.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill of his own in the Senate this month, with Reps. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois creating a companion piece of legislation in the House.
“The bipartisan ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act is a strong step in protecting our nation from the nefarious digital surveillance and influence operations of totalitarian regimes,” Krishnamoorthi went on to say in a statement.
Back when Donald Trump was in the White House he signed an executive order that would ban TikTok in 2020. However, due to legal hurdles, the order was never put into force. Last year, Biden revoked it and replaced it with an order of his own designed to protect the data and information of Americans from foreign adversaries.
As of this writing, TikTok boasts of 100 million users in the United States alone. It has consistently been one of the most popular apps in both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
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