Social media
US sees Tiktok as a potential threat to national security
US and Canadian government employees are being asked to remove the Tiktok social media app from their work devices over security concerns. photo
© Michael Dwyer/AP/dpa
No more Tiktok: Due to security concerns, the US government is banning the Chinese app from company cell phones. Is there now a complete ban?
The US government has again identified Tiktok as a potential national security risk. “We have concerns about collecting 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 yesterday 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 warns of less freedom of expression online
Tiktok said such a law would have a significant negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love 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.”