"TikTok is a Puppet of the Communist Party"... US Full Ban Bill Proposed

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A bill to completely ban the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok, which has faced ongoing security concerns, was simultaneously introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

On the 13th (local time), according to major foreign media, Senator Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida), Representative Mike Gallagher (Republican, Wisconsin), and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (Democrat, Illinois) each introduced bills in the Senate and House to ban TikTok’s operations within the United States.

The bill, officially titled "Blocking Social Media Companies Tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s Internet Surveillance, Coercive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning to Evade National Threats," includes provisions to block transactions of social media companies operating within or under the influence of China, Russia, or other concerned countries in the U.S.

The bill explicitly states that ByteDance and TikTok will be included in the scope of application until the U.S. President certifies to Congress that they are not under the substantive influence of the concerned countries.

Senator Rubio said in a press release, "The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect Americans from the threat posed by TikTok," adding, "This is not about creative videos but about an application that collects data from tens of millions of American children and adults every day."

He continued, "We know TikTok manipulates reactions and influences elections, and we also know TikTok responds to requests from the Chinese government," emphasizing, "It is time to stop wasting time negotiating with a puppet company of the Chinese Communist Party. Now is the time to permanently ban TikTok."

Representative Krishnamoorthi stated, "At a time when the Chinese Communist Party and other adversaries seek advantages against the U.S. through espionage and mass surveillance, it is urgent not to allow hostile forces to easily control social media that can be used as weapons against the United States."

Earlier, South Dakota became the second state, following Nebraska, to ban TikTok use at the state government agency level for security reasons. Additionally, South Carolina deleted and blocked TikTok on devices owned by the state government.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said last month in the House, "The Chinese government collects data on millions of TikTok users and uses TikTok to control recommendation algorithms, thereby exerting influence."

TikTok, a short video-sharing platform favored by those aged 10 to 20, has faced suspicions that its parent company, China’s ByteDance, is linked to the Chinese government. Due to security concerns that TikTok could leak personal information of American users, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order to force TikTok’s sale to an American company, but it ended in failure after legal battles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.