TikTok Under Pressure As US Lawmakers Push Government Ban

New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Dec, 2022 ) :The US Congress is on the cusp of approving a nationwide ban on using TikTok on government devices because of perceived security risks -- thrusting the hugely popular video-sharing platform into a delicate position over Washington's ties to China.

After a Senate vote last week, the US House of Representatives could this week adopt a law prohibiting the use of TikTok on the professional phones of civil servants.

The measure would follow bans in nearly 20 US states, where Republicans have led the attack against TikTok, arguing that its ownership by Chinese firm ByteDance makes the app unsafe for Americans.

"The fundamental problem is this...TikTok is owned by ByteDance which is effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party," Republican congressman Mike Gallagher explained to CNN on Sunday.

But what has long been a rallying cry for conservatives is becoming increasingly widespread among their Democratic colleagues, to the point that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she was in favor of putting the draft to a vote this week.

"This is not a political issue between Republicans and Democrats. This is a United States issue that we need to address nationally," Ryan McDougle, a Republican state senator from Virginia who has been at the forefront of the issue, told AFP.

Another bill, also introduced last week by representatives from both parties, calls for an outright ban on TikTok in the United States, though it does not seem likely to be taken up for a formal vote for now.