Senate approves bill banning TikTok on government devices

The Senate unanimously approved Wednesday to ban federal employees from using the Chinese app TikTok on government devices. The rule would prevent the download and use of the app on any device used for work purposes by federal government officials.

The bill has been sent to the House of Representatives for a vote, and would then need the president's signature to be enacted into law. This comes in the midst of a crackdown on the Chinese application due to concerns over national security. Shortly before that, bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate called for a complete ban of TikTok in the United States.

Throughout the country several states are already moving to ban TikTok. The app's parent company ByteDance is heavily linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok has been under fire from lawmakers for years for sharing U.S. citizens' data with China's communist regime, though this has been repeatedly denied by ByteDance. Former President Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to ban the app altogether. Since then, steps have been taken to limit the app's influence that could now lead to a ban on federal devices.

The app has more than 100 million users in the U.S. and has quickly become one of the most popular social networks in the world, especially among teenagers.