US bans TikTok as a national security risk

In the US, they propose to block social networks associated with Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. Relevant bills have already been submitted by members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

TikTok is on the list of social networks that have fallen out of favor, informs Engadget. The main goal of the new bills is to block access to programs that are theoretically capable of transferring US user data to repressive governments, censoring news or otherwise manipulating the public.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mike Gallagher of the Republican Party, and House Democrat Raja Krishnamurti. They draw attention to the links between members of the leadership of ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) and the Chinese Communist Party, as outlined in a November article by The Washington Post. At that time, 23 directors had experience in the state media of the PRC, another 15 employees still worked there.

TikTok responded to the news by saying the bills “would not enhance” national security and denied plans to spy on US users or otherwise intentionally assist China in doing so.

Meanwhile, South Dakota has already implemented a TikTok ban on government devices. State Governor Christy Noem said the Chinese government is using TikTok data to “manipulate the American people.” She signed a decree banning government employees and agencies from downloading and using TikTok on government devices. In her announcement, Noem said she was issuing the order due to growing security concerns about the app the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses for social media to collect information from US users and use it to manipulate them. The order is now in effect and also prohibits civil servants from visiting the TikTok website in browsers:

“South Dakota will not participate in the intelligence gathering operations of countries that hate us. The Chinese Communist Party is using the information it collects on TikTok to manipulate the American people and they are collecting data from devices that access the platform.”

Maryland has followed South Dakota’s example by banning TikTok on government devices due to security concerns. And Indiana is suing TikTok for allegedly defrauding users about data access in China and violating child safety.

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