Senators Will Look at Legislation to Ban TikTok, Other Foreign-Controlled Apps: Schumer

The social media application logo for TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of a U.S. flag and Chinese flag background in Washington on March 16, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Senators will consider legislation aimed at increasing the Biden administration’s ability to clamp down on Chinese-owned TikTok and other foreign-controlled applications, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters on May 3.

Schumer made the comments during a press conference after introducing a Democrat proposal dubbed “China Competition Bill 2.0,“ which is aimed at deterring China’s communist regime from escalating conflict with Taiwan while bolstering U.S. economic investment.

Asked about legislation to ban TikTok or other foreign-controlled applications, he said, “This is one of the things we will look at, for sure.”

The New York Democrat was referencing legislation proposed by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) in March, dubbed the “RESTRICT Act,“ which aims to address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries, including China.

Warner and Thune were joined by 24 other senators earlier this year in proposing the measure.

Under the legislation, the Commerce Department would be granted new authority to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate” any risks stemming from a range of information communications and technology transactions involving foreign-owned apps such as TikTok.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has come under increased scrutiny in Washington because of national security concerns and the potential that U.S. users’ private information could land in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with many lawmakers advocating for a nationwide ban of the app.

ByteDance has repeatedly denied that TikTok data are handed to Beijing and says it stores U.S. user data on servers outside China.

However, amid increasing concerns over Chinese surveillance, the Biden administration has warned that the app could be banned across the United States if ByteDance doesn’t sell its stake in the video app.

Pending Lawsuits

Washington has yet to announce such a move and has so far only prohibited the application from being used on government devices.

The UK, Canada, and Australia have followed suit with similar moves.

Along with concerns over its possible security risks, TikTok is being sued by states, including Arkansas and Indiana, with the former claiming in a March lawsuit that the platform is intentionally designed to be manipulative and addictive to children.

In March, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before a congressional hearing to answer questions regarding concerns over the popular video-streaming app—which has soared in popularity and is used by more than 100 million Americans—and its possible links to Beijing, as well as its effect on children.

Chew told lawmakers during the hearing that the app has been working for years to build “what amounts to a firewall to seal off protected U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access” and that user data are “stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel.”

He added that TikTok doesn’t work with or for the Chinese regime and doesn’t spy on users. However, those reassurances appear to have done little to ease Washington’s concerns.

In April, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a Senate hearing that the Biden administration is taking “urgent” actions to address the possible security threats posed by TikTok and other companies, including hiring people to monitor and identify such companies.

“I’ve put over 200 Chinese companies on the entity list in my tenure, and we are actively, constantly investigating additional threats, and if we think companies need to go onto the list, I will not hesitate,” she said.

TikTok officials didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.