US lawmakers to go ahead with the proposal banning TikTok use nationwide

Days afterTikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was grilled before a Congressional committee in Washington, the lawmakers have said they are moving forward with the plan to impose a nationwide banon the short-video platform, according to The Guardian.

Kevin McCarthy, the US House of Representatives speaker said the lawmakers were moving ahead to address the national security concerns posed by the app, alleging that the Chinese government had access to users' data.

“The House will be moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from the technological tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party,” tweetedMcCarthy.

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While the legislation has largely received bipartisan support, Democrat leaderAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to TikTok to post a lengthy monologue where she protested against the ban saying it was an 'unprecedented' move in the history of the United States.

Citing TikTok as a 'high risk' security concern, the Joe Biden administration has demanded that the Chinese owner of the app sell their stake or risk getting banned.

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The ByteDance-owned platform has been approached by Committee on Foreign Investment in the US or CFIUS and asked for divestment over national security concerns.

During the hearing last Thursday,the committee members asked Shou how frequently he was in contact with the Chinese government. The lawmakers also questioned whether TikTok'sproposed solution, called Project Texas, would offer sufficient protection against the Chinese laws under which Chinese companiesmake user data accessible to the CCP government.

Shou responded that TikTok is global in nature, and headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles, and not available in mainland China. According to reports, TikTok has spent more than$1.5 billionon data security efforts under 'Project Texas' to satisfy the US government's concerns.

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However, the lawmakers appear to be unmoved. Last year in December,the Chinese short-video app was banned from all federal government devices across the country.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also warned against data leaks through the app. Director Christopher Wray informed theHouse panel that potential Chinese government access to users’ data or software through the app is reason to be “extremely concerned”.

(With inputs from agencies)

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