Senate lawmakers passed a bill banning TikTok from government-issued devices late Wednesday, as a growing number of states seek to limit access to the China-based social media platform out of fear that Beijing will use it to spy on US citizens.
Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., passed the bill banning TikTok on government devices unanimously and sent it to the House of Representatives for approval.
“TikTok is a Trojan horse for the Chinese Communist Party,” Hawley said in a statement after his act was authorized. “This is a serious security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to cut ties completely with China, it has no place in government.”
The hugely popular video-sharing platform, with more than 85 million users in the US, has shut down amid strained relations between Washington, D.C. and Beijing is increasingly being scrutinized because it is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
For years Republicans have warned of the national security risks it could pose, but efforts to limit access to it recently intensified after reports China accessed US government data, which owns it.
Last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged that the platform posed some security concerns, while Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr has repeatedly voiced support for efforts to ban it.
“The speed and bipartisan unanimity that the Senate is showing here demonstrates the seriousness Republicans and Democrats are taking right now in dealing with the threat posed by TikTok,” Carr said after Wednesday’s vote.
Senator Marco Rubio also introduced legislation on Tuesday that would go further than Hawley’s bill and ban any social media companies associated with the governments of China, Russia and several other countries it cited as a concern.
“The federal government has not taken any meaningful action to protect American consumers from the threat posed by TikTok,” Rubio said in a statement. “This isn’t about creative videos — these are apps that collect data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day.”
The state has also taken matters into its own hands and is acting to guard social media platforms from government-issued devices via government orders.
The list of states banning TikTok continues to grow, with Governor Brad Little adding Idaho on Wednesday, Governor Doug Burgum adding North Dakota, and Governor Kim Reynolds adding Iowa on Tuesday.
On Monday, Utah and Alabama banned the service, following Texas last week and Maryland, South Carolina and South Dakota before that.
Nebraska banned smartphone apps back in August 2020.
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