House Republican majority prepares to ban TikTok among federal employees

The Communist Party of China allegedly steals personal information of U.S. users through the social network. Biden previously overturned Trump's actions against TikTok.

Tiktok from a telephone screen. — (Flickr -Solen Feyissa)

Published by

Alejandro Baños

5 de diciembre, 2022

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The House Republican Party is drafting a bill to ban the use of TikTok among federal employees. This is a new step to prevent the Chinese communist regime from stealing the personal information of U.S. users through the social network, after South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed an order to veto its use by state officials. The Army and the Transportation Security Administration also restricted the use of this application.

It is estimated that TikTok has more than 100 million users in the United States, many people who could be harmed by this alleged theft of information. After winning the majority in the House of Representatives in the last midterm elections, the Republican Party will lead the Judiciary Committee, which is already working on drafting this legislation.

"In China, no enterprise is truly private."

Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Mike Gallagher, both members of the Select Committee on Intelligence in their respective Houses, introduced a first bill to veto the use of TikTok throughout the United States. In a statement issued on November 10, both congressmen warned that private property in China does not exist:

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. This is not a state-owned enterprise, but in China, no company is truly private. Under the country’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, all citizens and businesses are required to assist in intelligence work, which includes sharing data.

To which they added:

[ByteDance’s] ownership of TikTok is problematic for two reasons. First, the app can track cellphone users’ locations and collect internet-browsing data — even when users are visiting unrelated websites. With this app, Beijing could… collect sensitive national security information from U.S. government employees and develop profiles on millions of Americans to use for blackmail or espionage.

Speaking to Fox News, Gallagher equated TikTok with fentanyl:

TikTok should be banned. Senator Marco Rubio and I have drafted legislation that does exactly that. TikTok is digital fentanyl, addicting our kids, and just like actual fentanyl, it ultimately goes back to the Chinese Communist Party.

Biden overturned Trump's anti-TikTok measures

After learning that the social network is controlled by the Communist Party of China (CPC) despite being owned by ByteDance, TikTok has been deemed a threat to national security. Donald Trump was the first to attempt to ban the use of TikTok in 2020 through an executive order unless the social network was sold to a U.S. company.

At the time, ByteDance turned down acquisition offers from companies such as Oracle and Microsoft. In 2021, Joe Biden overturned all measures imposed on the Chinese social network by the former president.