Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Senate committee to vote on bill banning federal employees from using TikTok

Published 07/15/2020, 03:00 PM
Updated 07/15/2020, 11:05 PM
© Reuters. Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing to examine issues involving race and policing practices on Capitol Hill in Washington

© Reuters. Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing to examine issues involving race and policing practices on Capitol Hill in Washington

By Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee is likely to vote next week on a bill from Republican Senator Josh Hawley that would ban federal employees from using social media app TikTok on government-issued devices.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will take up the "No TikTok on Government Devices Act" at its hearing on July 22.

TikTok's Chinese ownership and wide popularity among American teens have brought scrutiny from U.S. regulators and lawmakers.

TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, is known for its ability to create short videos. The company last year said that about 60% of its 26.5 million monthly active users in the U.S. are aged 16 to 24.

One of the company's harshest critic, Hawley has repeatedly raised national security concerns over TikTok's handling of user data and said he was worried that the company shares data with the Chinese government.

"For federal employees it really is a no-brainer. It's a major security risk. ... Do we really want Beijing having geo-location data of all federal employees? Do we really want them having their keystrokes?" Hawley told reporters in March when he announced the introduction of the bill.

TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza said the company's U.S. user data is stored in Virginia and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access.

TikTok "has a growing U.S. team that works diligently to develop a best-in-class security infrastructure," she added.

Several U.S. agencies that deal with national security and intelligence issues have banned employees from using the app.

© Reuters. Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing to examine issues involving race and policing practices on Capitol Hill in Washington

Recently, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is looking at banning Chinese social media apps https://reut.rs/2DCfwQ3, including TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government. He said Americans should be cautious in using the app. Under a law introduced in 2017 under Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese companies have an obligation to support and cooperate in China's national intelligence work.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.