As lawmakers continue to push down on the Chinese government-affiliated app, a Republican senator has requested a hearing on TikTok and its persistent privacy problems, national security concerns, and disturbing impact on children.
President Joe Biden imposed a ban on TikTok for government devices in December, which has been replicated in over a dozen states, and Congress is considering legislation to prohibit the app nationwide.
US Plans To Fully Ban TikTok
Now, more than a year after the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the dangers of TikTok, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is pressuring his colleagues for a speedy follow-up.
National security specialists have continued to analyze TikTok, which produced over $4 billion in revenue in 2021. TikTok’s parent firm, ByteDance, is a Chinese technology business that owes at least 1 percent of its stock to the Chinese government.
Multiple reports appeared in December 2022 that ByteDance admitted to eavesdropping on American journalists. In October 2022, Forbes published an article based on internal ByteDance papers that revealed the company’s Internal Audit and Risk Control team intended to use TikTok to track the personal locations of American users.
Sullivan voted in favor of the TikTok ban affecting around 4 million government devices in December 2022. In the same month, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin), and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) introduced a measure that would prohibit the app in the United States.
The hearing Sullivan mentions in his letter was titled Protecting Kids Online: Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube and was scheduled for October 2021.
One of the witnesses was Michael Beckerman, the head of public policy for TikTok in the United States. He asserted that the application does not share data with the Chinese government.
Read more: IRS: 12 million Tax refunds for delayed 2020 tax season
Restriction on All Government Devices
Mississippi also joined a growing number of jurisdictions that have banned Tik Tok on government-issued devices and the state’s network.
This afternoon, Governor Tate Reeves issued the order.
He stated that this is to protect sensitive information and vital infrastructure from the Chinese app.
By January 31, state employees must remove, delete, and uninstall any apps or software programs created by ByteDance, the company that owns Tik Tok.
The only exception to this instruction is for purposes of law enforcement or public safety.
Read more: California Earned Income Tax Credit 2023: How to qualify and how much money is available?
