New bill could ban TikTok and other foreign tech products in the US due to data collection issues

Two U.S. senators plan to introduce legislation this week to allow the government to “ban or ban” foreign tech products such as Chinese-owned TikTok, Sen. Mark Warner said on Sunday.

Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said TikTok would be “one of the potentials” to be considered under the bill. The Democratic senator made the comments on Fox News on Sunday.

The bill comes at a time when TikTok is coming under increasing pressure over fears that US user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Wednesday to give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok, in what would be the most sweeping U.S. restriction on any social media app.

The White House last week gave government agencies 30 days to ensure TikTok is not on any device or federal system. More than 30 US states, Canada, and political institutions in the European Union have also banned loading TikTok on state-owned devices.

Warner said he was concerned that TikTok “could be a propaganda tool” based on the types of videos it sends to users.

He said the bill he plans to introduce “would say, in terms of foreign technology coming into America, we need to have a systematic approach to make sure we can ban it or ban it if necessary.”

He said he plans to introduce the bill this week with Republican Sen. John Thune. A Warner spokesperson said they expected to make an announcement on Tuesday.

Details on the proposed bill were not available on Sunday. A Thune spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the plan.

© Thomson Reuters 2023