US Senate passes bill banning federal govt employees using TikTok
The US Senate on unanimously approved a bill banning federal employees from using the social media app TikTok on government-issued devices.
Authorities have raised security concerns about the video-sharing platform because it’s owned by the Chinese-based company ByteDance. The vote follows a vow from President Trump to shut down the app entirely in the US by Sept. 15 unless it sells its US operations to Microsoft or another US-based company.
“I’m encouraged by the bipartisan support we have seen in this body to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable and that includes…holding accountable those corporations who would just do China’s bidding,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement.
The Senate bill follows a vote in the House last month approving similar legislation from Rep. Ken Buck (R-Co.) that bans federal employees from downloading the app on government-issued devices.
A final version combining the two bills will move to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
“We support Congress’ intent to protect government-issued devices against the privacy and security risks inherent in certain third-party applications,” a White House official said when asked if Trump would support the bill.
