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WASHINGTON – TikTok may be running out of time in the United States.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) proposed a measure on Tuesday that would ban the popular video-based social media site due to its ties to Beijing, the politicians revealed.
The initiative, which has bipartisan backing, targets ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, which, according to Rubio’s office, is compelled by Chinese law to submit its data to the Communist Party.
The Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP) Act would block and prohibit “all transactions from any social media company in China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern,” including Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela.
Rubio stated, “This is not about artistic films; this is about an app that collects daily data on tens of millions of American children and adults.” “We are aware that it is used to manipulate feeds and sway elections. We are aware of its connection to the People’s Republic of China.”
Recognizing the escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, Gallagher referred to TikTok as “digital fentanyl” that is “addicting Americans, gathering vast amounts of personal data, and filtering the news.”
Due of the social media platform’s parent company’s ties to China, a new bipartisan bill has been introduced that would prohibit TikTok.
“Enabling the app to continue operating in the United States would be analogous to allowing the Soviet Union to acquire the New York Times, the Washington Post, and major broadcast networks during the Cold War,” Gallagher added. It’s time to prohibit TikTok and any other CCP-controlled app before it’s too late, because no government with even a passing interest in its own security would let this to occur.
Both the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy recently released by the United States identify China as America’s greatest threat due to its fast military expansion across Asia and Africa. Beijing intends to become a worldwide powerhouse and establish a “world-class military” by 2049, according to the most current China Military Power report from the Pentagon.
Some Democrats favor the bill, like Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), a progressive who termed it “a significant step in defending our nation from the digital monitoring and influence operations of authoritarian regimes.”
The bill sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Mike Gallagher would restrict “any transactions from any social media business in or under the influence of China, Russia, and a number of other countries of concern.”
REUTERS/Joe Skipper Gallagher compared allowing TikTok to function in the United States to the hypothetical sale of the New York Times to the Soviet Union.
“At a time when the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries are seeking any advantage they can find against the United States through espionage and mass surveillance, it is imperative that we do not permit hostile powers to potentially control social media networks that could be easily weaponized against us,” Krishnamoorthi stated.
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order in late 2020 prohibiting new downloads of the TikTok app, characterizing it as a national security concern. After a series of court battles, the ban never materialized, and President Biden rescinded the order when he assumed office last year.
In its stead, Biden issued an executive order mandating that the Department of Commerce evaluate “foreign adversary-connected software services… and take appropriate action.”
President Biden earlier ordered the Department of Commerce to assess “foreign adversary-connected digital applications.”
Rubio stated in his statement that Biden’s executive order did not go far enough to prevent American data from getting into the hands of the Chinese.
“The federal government has not taken a single move to safeguard American users from the threat of TikTok,” he claimed. “There is no longer time for pointless conversations with a CCP-puppet firm. It is time to permanently outlaw Beijing-controlled TikTok.”
The federal proposal was introduced a day after New York legislators introduced a bill prohibiting state employees and contractors from installing TikTok onto government-issued electronic devices. At least five states have passed similar restrictions, including Maryland, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.