US lawmakers unveil bipartisan legislation to block TikTok; Alabama, Utah ban app on state devices

US lawmakers are coming down hard on TikTok. Republican Senator Marco Rubio announced bipartisan legislation to ban the Chinese video sharing app on Tuesday. US has been concerned that China could use the app owned by ByteDance to spy on Americans and censor content.

The legislation aims to block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, as per a news release from Rubio's office. The statement further added that a companion bill in the US House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Responding to the development, TikTok called the ban "politically motivated".

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"It is troubling that rather than encouraging the administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

The company also said that it would continue to brief members of Congress regarding plans to make the platform secure in the United States.

TikTok has been under the scanner in Washington for a long time now. Several states have prohibited the use of the app on state devices. FBI Director Chris Wray had said at a hearing last month that TikTok's US operations raise national security concerns, saying that there is a risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.

Following in the footsteps of Texas, Maryland and South Dakota, Alabama and Utah also stopped the use of TikTok on state government devices and computer networks due to national security concerns.

"Disturbingly, TikTok harvests vast amounts of data, much of which has no legitimate connection to the app's supposed purpose of video sharing. Use of TikTok involving state IT infrastructure thus creates an unacceptable vulnerability to Chinese infiltration operations," Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement.

Indiana has sued the app on concerns that it is deceiving users about China's access to their data and is exposing children to mature content.

Also Read |After Maryland, Texas bans use of TikTok on govt devices, Indiana sues platform for deceiving users

"We're disappointed that so many states are jumping on the bandwagon to enact policies based on unfounded, politically charged falsehoods about TikTok," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

In 2020, the then-president Donald Trump had tried to block new users from downloading TikTok and ban other transactions, effectively blocking the apps' use in the United States. However, he lost a series of court battles over the measure.

Later in 2021, President Joe Biden withdrew Trump's executive orders and directed the Commerce Department to conduct a review of security concerns posed by the apps.

(With inputs from agencies)

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