Senator Marco Rubio has announced bipartisan legislation to ban popularity Chinese social media Tik Tok And increase pressure on owner company ByteDance Ltd: Fears the app is being used to spy on Americans and censor content. The legislation, Rubio’s office said, would block all transactions by any social media companies operating under the influence of China and Russia, as the bill was introduced in the House by Republican Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamurthy.
“Rather than encourage the administration to complete a national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically motivated ban that will do nothing to advance U.S. national security,” he said. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the company may continue to brief members of Congress on “well underway” plans to “further secure our base in the United States.”
The legislation comes amid heightened scrutiny of TikTok in Washington after the Trump administration’s failed attempt to ban the video-sharing app.
During a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray argued that TikTok raises US national security concerns, highlighting the risk of the Chinese government using social media to infect users or control their devices.
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