The No-TikTok Act proposed by Senator Josh Hawley last month has garnered all the votes of the US Senate while just pending before the US House. This would effectively ban TikTok from all government-owned devices, with exceptions for security researchers and other law enforcement-related activities.
TikTok Ban in the US
TikTok has long been a controversial app in the US, with reports stating the platform could potentially compromise the security of its users – by letting the sensitive data collected from users and offering it to the Chinese government! Reports of TikTok sucking a large amount of unwanted data from users have triggered everyone, with repeated investigations to check every inch of the app. As it is deemed a national security threat, several countries like India and a few US states like South Dakota and Maryland have already banned it! This pursuit is now followed by the whole of the US – with a proposed bill to ban TikTok on government devices coming into effect soon. This was proposed by Senator Josh Hawley last month, which now passed a critical milestone of getting unanimous votes from the US Senate. While it’s still pending before the US House for final approval, it surely has the potential to become a law soon. When done, it’d ban all government devices from installing TikTok, with exceptions to “law enforcement activities, national security interests and activities, and security researchers.” Josh Hawley called TikTok a “Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party” and has no place on government devices unless it completely cuts ties with China. Responding to this incident, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said, “We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he (Hawley )will urge the administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.”
