The U.S. Lawmakers are pushing for an outright prohibition on TikTok, which has led to China describing this move as some kind of economic repression directed toward foreign companies.
Lawmakers in the United States have been vocal about their concerns regarding the popular social media platform TikTok, which a Chinese tech company, ByteDance, owns.
In response, they are pushing for a complete ban of the app, citing security concerns and fears that the Chinese government could use the app to collect user data.
However, China has criticized this move, claiming that it is merely economic repression and a violation of free trade principles.
The debate around TikTok highlights the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and data security, exacerbated recently by a government-device ban.
The Biden administration recently issued a directive that all government agency personnel must remove TikTok from their federal devices and systems within 30 days due to concerns over data security.
This decision was made after the U.S. Congress passed a law banning the app on all federal government devices in December.
State and federal officials have expressed deep concerns that Chinese authorities could gain access to sensitive American data and information through the use of the app TikTok.
Over the past few months, several public colleges and universities in multiple states have announced that they will block access to TikTok on-campus Wi-Fi networks and devices.
Furthermore, over half of the U.S. states — mostly Republican-led states — have also prohibited TikTok from their government devices.
Republicans have long advocated for the implementation of a nationwide ban on the use of TikTok, which would put the jobs of thousands of content creators and influencers in peril.
One Republican, known for his hawkish stance toward China, Senator Josh Hawley, announced that he would introduce legislation to make it illegal in the United States to use the short video app TikTok.
There have reportedly been no updates yet on when this bill will get its day in front of Congress or if it will come to fruition.
Meanwhile, influencers and other digital creators have been encouraging their followers to check them out on other platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, which U.S.-based companies own.
Comments / 4