Bipartisan bill aims at TikTok, other foreign tech

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The White House on Tuesday backed a bipartisan bill that would give the president power to regulate and restrict foreign technology companies. A dozen senators sponsored the legislation that would allow the government to ban companies that pose national security threats from operating in the United States. Technologies from Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba could also be subject to inspection.

Is this connected to TikTok? Though TikTok was not singled out in the bill, senators mentioned the social media giant at a Tuesday news conference about the bill. Many government officials have concerns that the app could be used by Beijing for surveillance. The House Foreign Affairs Committee last week advanced a bill that would require the Biden administration to issue a nationwide ban on TikTok if it is found to pose risks to American user data. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is due to appear in Congress on March 23.

Dig deeper: Read Rebeccah L. Heinrich’s column in WORLD Opinions about how China is using TikTok to spy on Americans.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.