Push to give Biden new powers to ban TikTok moves ahead in Congress
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[March 07, 2023]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators said on Monday their efforts to
tackle foreign technology threats were advancing and they will on
Tuesday unveil legislation aimed at granting President Joe Biden's
administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and
other apps that could pose security risks.
A White House spokeswoman told Reuters the administration is "working
with Congress" but declined to say if it would endorse the Senate
legislation.
TikTok has come under increasing fire over fears that user data could
end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western
security interests. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear
before Congress on March 23.
Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, and John Thune, a Republican and others
plan on Tuesday to unveil latest in a series of proposals to give the
administration new tools to ban the ByteDance-owned app used by more
than 100 million Americans.
The bill is titled the "Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats
that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act" and
it will "comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology
from foreign adversaries, such as TikTok," Warner's office said.
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The administration has provided input on the senators' draft
legislation, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters. The White
House declined to say if it would endorse the Senate bill.
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![](../images/030723PIX/news_z2.jpg)
U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) speaks
to the media following a classified briefing for U.S. Senators about
the latest unknown objects shot down by the U.S. military, on
Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn
Hockstein/File Photo
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Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party
lines on a bill sponsored by Representative Michael McCaul to give
Biden the power to ban TikTok after then President Donald Trump was
stymied by courts in 2020 in his efforts to ban TikTok and WeChat.
Democrats opposed McCaul's bill, saying it was rushed and required
due diligence through debate and consultation with experts. Some
major bills aimed at China like a chips funding bill took 18 months
to win approval. McCaul said he thinks the full U.S. House of
Representatives could vote on bill this month.
TikTok said last week that a U.S. ban on the app would amount to "a
ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion
people who use our service worldwide."
The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020
unanimously recommended ByteDance divest TikTok because of fears
that user data could be passed to China's government.
TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating for more than two years on
data security requirements. TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5
billion on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying
allegations.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
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