TikTok is one of the most famous and most used apps in the world, but that’s about to change. Politicians in the USA seem to be leaning toward banning TikTok in the US. If everything goes according to plan, the app may soon vanish from US citizens’ smartphones.
It’s no secret that Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on a lot of things. But when it comes to the TikTok ban in US, they seem to agree. Both sides have formed an alliance to unveil bipartisan legislation that would ban TikTok in US.
Representatives on both sides have made it clear that they consider TikTok as a threat to national security.
A new bill unveiled by the Republican Senator “Marco Rubio” claims “any social media company in, or under the influence of” China and other hostile foreign countries, including Russia would be blocked.
If enough votes are amassed, and the bill is passed, TikTok would be banned in the USA. This idea was first presented by former president Donald Trump as he claimed the platform has links to the Chinese Government.
For those who don’t know, TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, based in Beijing.
There’s no doubt that TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the US and the world. It has over 100 million users in the USA, and more than 1 billion users globally.
How Would the US Put the Ban?
As announced by Mr Rubio, President Joe Biden could impose sanctions on TikTok and other China-owned social media companies to prevent commercial operations in the US.
As 2022 is coming to an end, the bill is more than likely to be presented to Congress next year. If the House passed the bill, it would then head to the Democrat-controlled senate.
The US government has also been in talks with ByteDance about certain regulations in the country for some time. A spokesperson from ByteDance claimed that they were “confident” it can “fully satisfy all reasonable US national security concerns.”
What Are US’s National Security Concerns?
Since the end of Mid-Terms in US, the Anti-TikTok wave has picked up the pace. FBI Director Chris Wray has issued a warning that TikTok’s operations in the US are a matter of national security concerns.
Just earlier this month, the state of Indiana filed a lawsuit against TikTok for the deception of users about how much of their data is accessed by China.Â
Governors in Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, and South Carolina ordered state agencies to ban TikTok on government-issued devices.
Will Trump’s Old Idea Become Reality?
When his presidency was about to come to an end, Mr. Trum suggested that ByteDance should sell its US operations to a US-based company like Microsoft.
But, President Biden decided to dismiss the former president’s order. Although, he did demand a government review of all the foreign-owned apps. This review is still going on, even a year later.
Thomas Walters, the founder of Billion Dollar Boy stated that the sell-off was “the most likely outcome.”
He also mentioned that having an outright ban on TikTok similar to India is unlikely.
What’s TikTok’s Response to This?
TikTok is continuing to dismiss the concerns. The company is insisting that its operations in the US are independent of the parent company, and all American user data is safe.
A spokesperson from TikTok said that Mr. Rubio’s legislation is motivated by political gains, and the ban will do nothing to advance the nation’s national security.