They introduced a new bill to ban TikTok in the US: “threatens national security”

Two Republican lawmakers were nominated this Wednesday in Congress by A A bill aimed at banning the TikTok app from devices in the United States.

Congressmen Josh Hawley of the Senate and Ken Buck of the House of Representatives, who are leading the bill, They accuse the Chinese application of being a “threat to the national security” of the US.

“TikTk not only It is directly related to the Chinese Communist PartyBut it is used Spying on Americans– Lawmaker Buck wrote on his Twitter account.

The draft law is addressed to the executive power Block and prohibit transactions by US entities or individuals with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

In turn, it is asking the director of national intelligence to report to Congress on what lawmakers consider a “national threat” by TikTok, including allegedly giving the Chinese government access to American data. Skin.

TikTok has denied these types of accusations in the past, insisting that it does not censor content or give the Chinese government access to its data.

In December last year, the US Congress adopted A A law that bans the popular video app from being used on official federal government devices.

Several states, such as Texas, Alabama, Virginia or Tennessee, have already done the same at the state level, while territories such as Indiana have filed a lawsuit against ByteDance for allegedly allowing Chinese espionage.

Additionally, dozens of public universities have also banned the app in recent weeks from their official systems or their WiFi networks, or advised students to stop using it.

In 2019, and as part of a strategy to increase pressure on China, then US President Donald Trump gave TikTok an ultimatum to transfer its operations to US companies if it did not want to be banned in the country. It’s not over.

TikTok has over 100 million users in the United States And in a short time it became one of the most popular social networks in the world, especially among teenagers.

What’s wrong with TIKTOK?

Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission were alerted User data TikTok’s owner, ByteDance Ltd., may share with China’s authoritarian government. US authorities are also concerned that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spread pro-Chinese messages or disinformation.

“If we have national security concernsFBI Director Christopher Wray said at a Homeland Security Committee hearing in November. “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it for control.” Collect data from millions of users“.

Fears were raised last year by news that a China-based team improperly accessed the data of American TikTok users, including two journalists, as part of a covert surveillance program to identify the source of leaks to the press.

There are also fears that the company is sending large amounts of user data to China, in violation of strict European privacy rules.

In addition, there have been concerns about TikTok’s content and whether it is harming the mental health of teenagers.

(according to EFE and AP)

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