Senate Passes Bill Banning TikTok From Government Devices

Author: Editors Desk Source: WSJ:

December 14, 2022 at 22:29

TikTok’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance, has been the focus of national-security concerns in the U.S. PHOTO: DENIS CHARLET/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Social-media app has come under scrutiny over China-based parent ByteDance

WASHINGTON—The Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill that would ban federal employees from downloading or using the social-media app TikTok on government devices, in the face of mounting national-security concerns.

The legislation would still have to pass the House and be signed by the president to become law. A similar bill passed the Senate in a previous Congress but never moved forward in the House.

U.S. officials and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about the app’s owner, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. In just five years, the application, which allows users to post short videos with music, has exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon. It is the world’s most popular app, used by two-thirds of American teens.

TikTok has repeatedly said that it has never shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government and wouldn’t if asked.

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