US lawmakers to include ban on TikTok on government devices in major spending bill
- The US Senate last week voted on a bill to bar federal employees from using the ByteDance-owned short video app on government-owned devices
- The legislation would not impact the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices
US lawmakers will include a proposal to bar federal government employees from using Chinese app TikTok on government-owned devices in a key spending bill, sources told Reuters on Monday.
The Senate last week voted on a bill sponsored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley to bar federal employees from using the ByteDance-owned short video app on government-owned devices. It was the latest action by US lawmakers to crack down on Chinese companies amid national security fears.
The ban is set to be included in a massive omnibus measure to fund US government operations that is expected to be voted on this week, the sources said.
The proposal last week won the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
TikTok has said the concerns are largely fuelled by misinformation. The legislation would not impact the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices.
Many federal agencies, including the White House and the Defence, Homeland Security and State departments, already ban TikTok from government-owned devices.
Also Monday, state agencies in Louisiana and West Virginia became the latest to ban the use of TikTok on government devices over concern that China could use it to track Americans and censor content.