The Senate approved legislation Wednesday to bar the use of TikTok on government phones and devices amid national security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media platform.
Through a vote of unanimous consent, the upper chamber approved the No TikTok on Government Devices Act authored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. The bill now moves to the House before it hits President Joe Biden's desk.
It comes as 13 states have made moves to limit the app for local officials, including Maryland and Texas. Reuters also noted that the Defense, Homeland Security and State departments are among federal agencies that have already banned TikTok on government-owned devices.
"TikTok is an immediate security threat that has no place on government devices," Hawley stated last year after the bill passed committee. "This should not be a partisan issue, and I'm glad to see my colleagues in the Senate act together to address Beijing's covert data collection campaign."
Hawley's legislation appears to be just the beginning of the U.S. government's crackdown on TikTok. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., along with Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., currently are pushing a bill to ban the app entirely.
With the threat of espionage from the Chinese Communist Party rising, "it is imperative that we do not allow hostile powers to potentially control social media networks that could be easily weaponized against us," Krishnamoorthi stated.
"The bipartisan ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act is a strong step in protecting our nation from the nefarious digital surveillance and influence operations of totalitarian regimes," he added.
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