The US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted unanimously to approve a bill from Republican Senator Josh Hawley that would ban federal workers from employing social media application TikTok on authorities-issued units.
It will now be taken up by the US Senate for a vote.
National stability issues about TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, have gathered steam amid fears that US users’ private information could slide into the palms of authorities officials in Beijing.
Less than a legislation launched in 2017 below Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese organizations have an obligation to support and cooperate in China’s countrywide intelligence perform.
Earlier this week, the Residence of Representatives voted to bar federal workers from downloading the application on authorities-issued units as element of a US$741 billion defence plan bill. Lawmakers voted 336-71 to pass the proposal, presented by Representative Ken Buck.
With passage in the Residence and approval by the Senate Committee, the prohibition could before long grow to be legislation in the United States.
Leading officials in the Trump administration have also claimed they had been contemplating a broader ban on TikTok and other Chinese-linked applications, and that action may possibly be imminent.
For case in point, Secretary of Condition Mike Pompeo recently claimed Individuals must be cautious in employing the application.
TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza claimed the company’s escalating US team has no higher precedence than endorsing a secure application encounter that shields users’ privacy.
“Hundreds of thousands of American people use TikTok for amusement and artistic expression, which we identify is not what federal authorities units are for,” she claimed.