US House panel approves invoice empowering President Joe Biden to ban TikTok

Lawmakers voted 24 to 16 to approve the measure to grant the administration new powers to ban the ByteDance-owned app – which is utilized by over 100 million Americans – in addition to different apps thought of safety dangers.

Washington,UPDATED: Mar 2, 2023 05:57 IST

The invoice would additionally require Biden to impose a ban on any entity that “may” switch delicate private knowledge to an entity topic to the affect of China. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters:

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday alongside social gathering traces to present President Joe Biden the facility to ban Chinese-owned TikTok, in what could be probably the most far-reaching U.S. restriction on any social media app.

Lawmakers voted 24 to 16 to approve the measure to grant the administration new powers to ban the ByteDance-owned app – which is utilized by over 100 million Americans – in addition to different apps thought of safety dangers.

“TikTok is a national security threat … It is time to act,” stated Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the committee who sponsored the invoice.

“Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP (Communist Party of China) a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into their phone.”

Democrats opposed the invoice, saying it was rushed and required due diligence by debate and session with consultants. The invoice doesn’t exactly specify how the ban would work, however provides Biden energy to ban any transactions with TikTok, which in flip might forestall anybody within the United States from accessing or downloading the app on their telephones.

The invoice would additionally require Biden to impose a ban on any entity that “may” switch delicate private knowledge to an entity topic to the affect of China.

ALSO READ | US House Democrat opposes giving Joe Biden energy to ban TikTok

TikTok has come below growing fireplace in current weeks over fears that consumer knowledge might find yourself within the arms of the Chinese authorities, undermining Western safety pursuits.

The White House this week gave authorities businesses 30 days to make sure that TikTok just isn’t on any federal units and programs. More than 30 US states, Canada and European Union coverage establishments have additionally banned TikTok from being loaded onto state-owned units.

The destiny of the newest measure remains to be unsure and faces vital hurdles earlier than it might turn into legislation. The invoice would must be handed by the complete House and U.S. Senate, which is managed by Democrats, earlier than it might go to Biden.

“A U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion people who use our service worldwide,” a TikTok spokeswoman stated after the vote.

The Biden administration didn’t say whether or not it was in favor of shifting forward with the invoice or not, or reply if it believed Biden has the authorized authority now to ban TikTok.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated “TikTok poses a problem and an issue – and so we have concerns about that as it relates to Americans’ data.”

‘INSTINCT TO BAN’

Representative Gregory Meeks, the highest Democrat on the committee, stated he strongly opposed the laws however understands considerations about TikTok.

“The Republican instinct to ban things it fears, from books to speech, appears uninhibited,” Meeks stated, including the invoice would require the administration to sanction TikTok and different subsidiaries of TikTok’s guardian firm.

The U.S. authorities’s Committee on Foreign Investment within the United States (CFIUS), a strong nationwide safety physique, in 2020 unanimously really helpful ByteDance divest TikTok due to fears that consumer knowledge might be handed on to China’s authorities.

TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating for greater than two years on knowledge safety necessities. TikTok stated it has spent greater than $1.5 billion on rigorous knowledge safety efforts and rejects spying allegations. Meeks desires the talks to proceed.

Meeks stated the invoice is “dangerously” broad and would require U.S. sanctions on Korean and Taiwanese corporations that offer Chinese corporations with semiconductor chips and different gear due to its broad restrictions on knowledge transfers to China.

The American Civil Liberties Union referred to as on lawmakers to oppose the invoice, calling it “a serious violation of our First Amendment rights.”

McCaul informed Reuters after the vote that he expects the invoice could be voted on by the House this month.

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is because of seem earlier than the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23 after assembly with lawmakers final month on Capitol Hill.

ALSO READ | After India, TikTok will get banned on this nation over nationwide safety causes

Published On:

Mar 2, 2023