On Tuesday, three US senators introduced a bipartisan bill to ban access to TikTok in the United States. The text is aimed at protecting the data of American citizens, specifically at ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company.
The potential influence of the Chinese government on the TikTok app is raising privacy concerns both in the public mind and among the country’s lawmakers and leaders, who have stepped up legal action against the short-term video app.
According to a press release by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the risk of TikTok spying on Americans is high because Chinese law requires ByteDance to provide app data to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Bill against TikTok
The CCP Anti-Social Law (Law for the Prevention of the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Repressive Censorship and Influence, and the Chinese Communist Party Algorithmic Learning Law) introduced by Rubio and Republican Senators Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamurthy will ban all social media companies . companies that pose a threat to US security to conduct operations in the United States.
According to the bill, its purpose is “to protect Americans from the threat posed by certain foreign adversaries who use actual or potential social media companies that those foreign adversaries control to surveil Americans, gather sensitive data about Americans, or broadcast influence campaigns.” , propaganda and censorship. .”
Social media companies affected by the bill are those that are headquartered in, controlled by or under the influence of the target country or legal entity. This list includes the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
In the section of the document regarding “alleged companies” associated with these countries, the bill specifically mentions ByteDance, TikTok and any affiliates of the company and calls for them to be blocked and banned from any transactions in the United States.
“TikTok is the digital fentanyl that Americans are getting addicted to”
“TikTok is a digital fentanyl (editor’s note. A very strong opioid painkiller) that is addicting Americans, collecting tons of data and censoring their information,” Gallagher said in a press release. “It’s also an increasingly powerful media company owned by ByteDance, ultimately answerable to the Chinese Communist Party - America’s main adversary.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to ZDNET’s request for comment. However, a TikTok spokesperson told CNBC: “What is disturbing is that rather than prompting the administration to complete a national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a ban. the security of the United States.”
To go further in TikTok
Source: “.com”