US to introduce bipartisan legislation to 'ban or prohibit' foreign tech apps like TikTok

On Sunday (local time), Mark Warner, a Democratic party US senator, announced that bipartisan legislation would be introduced this week with the aim of allowing the US government to "ban or prohibit" foreign technology products, including TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company.

Warner said that he and Senator John Thune will introduce the bill, adding: "I've got a broad Bipartisan bill that I'm launching with my friend John Thune will be the Republican lead where we're going to say, in terms of foreign technology coming into America, we've got to have a systemic approach to make sure that we can ban or prohibit it when necessary."

In an interview with Fox News, Warner said: "We have never had a potential adversary like China. So this week, I'm introducing bipartisan legislation to protect our national security against a wide range of foreign tech threats."

As the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner stated that TikTok would be among the technology products that could face scrutiny under the new legislation. The bill is being introduced amid growing concerns that data of US users on TikTok could potentially be accessed by the Chinese government.

Warner had been warning about various issues related to China for some time. He previously believed that integrating China into the global order would lead to positive changes, but he now acknowledged that this view was misguided, reported ANI. However, he said: "That assumption was just plain wrong. China even changed their laws in 2016 to make it explicitly clear that for every company in China, their first obligation is to the Communist Party."

Warner commented on the issue of the US failing to accurately assess the threat posed by China, stating that the country had never faced an adversary like China before. He noted that while Russia was considered a military or ideological threat, China's focus has been on making strategic investments in the economic sector.

"They have USD 500 billion of intellectual property theft. And we are in competition not just on a national security basis, but on a technology basis.That's why national security now includes telecommunications, satellites, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, each of these domains. We've got to make the kind of investments to stay ahead. And I think we're starting that in a Bipartisan way," said Warner to Fox News.

In addition, Warner emphasised the CHIPS bill, which aimed to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US. 

Is TikTok a propaganda tool?

Warner also expressed his belief that TikTok is a propaganda tool that is gathering data from American citizens.

"Listen, TikTok is not only you got 100 million Americans on TikTok, 90 minutes a day. Even you guys would like that kind of return. 90 minutes a day. They are taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe. But what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool to basically the kind of videos you see that would promote ideological issues. If you look at what TikTok shows to the Chinese kids, which is all about science and engineering versus what our kids see, there's a radical difference," said Warner.

On Wednesday, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to grant President Joe Biden the authority to prohibit TikTok, which would be the most comprehensive US restriction on any social media application. In the previous week, the White House directed government agencies to confirm within 30 days that TikTok is not present on any federal devices or systems.

In light of security concerns, a number of states, such as Maryland, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas, have passed laws prohibiting government agencies from utilising TikTok.

Over 30 US states, as well as policy institutions in Canada and the European Union, have similarly prohibited the installation of TikTok on state-owned devices.

The Canadian government also banned the use of TikTok on official electronic devices. As per CNN, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat announced that government-issued devices would be prevented from downloading TikTok and that existing installations of the app would be deleted.

The statement said: "Following a review of TikTok, the Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that it presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."