A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday tightened a legislative noose against TikTok. and other services with the introduction of a bill aimed at limiting the threat posed by technology from foreign “enemies”.
The law, sponsored by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner and Senate Republican No. 2 John Thune, will give the Commerce Department new powers to screen foreign technology from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba, including apps like TikTok.owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
The new powers will include the ability to dissolve any company deemed a threat to national security. Warner also cited concerns raised by many lawmakers that the video-sharing app could be used as a propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Restrictions Act is more than TikTok and will give us a holistic approach,” Warner said as he introduced the bill..
Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican John Thune, advocates of the rule, recall that the ICT supply chain has changed dramatically in recent years.
Suppliers controlled by “autocratic” governments have entered the market, they say, and their growth and dominance is seen as a risk to economic and national security.
The bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish procedures for detecting, preventing, vetoing and mitigating transactions. with technological products that are of interest to any external enemy and pose “unacceptable risks.”
“Before TikTok, there were others. It goes beyond TikTok, it’s a holistic approach,” Warner said at a press conference.
In his statement, he noted that the growing concern caused by applications and Products like TikTok, WeChat or Alibaba have revealed a lack of consistent policies to identify the threats they pose.
The bill is designed to adapt to rapid technological change and does not hide the fact that it could eventually lead to a ban on these platforms or services.
In late February, the Biden administration gave federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all federal government systems and devices, pursuant to a congressional ban passed with broad bipartisan support in December.
Many departments, including the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, have already introduced bans. Canada and the European Union have taken similar steps. India banned the app a long time ago.
Source: La Opinion
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