Today the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices.
Senator Hawley’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
“There is absolutely no reason why TikTok, an application that Beijing can use to collect Americans’ personal data, should be available on government devices,” Rubio said. “I am glad to see the Senate finally moving forward on this issue.”
Hawley said, “TikTok is an immediate security threat that no has place on government devices. This should not be a partisan issue and I’m glad to see my colleagues in the Senate act together to address Beijing’s covert data collection campaign. Banning TikTok from government devices is a good first step towards taking Chinese espionage seriously.”
Senator Hawley originally introduced the No TikTok on Government Devices Act in March 2020, following a Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee hearing he chaired, entitled “Dangerous Partners: Big Tech & Beijing,” when TikTok refused to testify. In August 2020, the bill passed the Senate unanimously.
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