The latest in a string of political blows to the social media platform has been proposed by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to ban TikTok from the US; however, it looks unlikely to succeed.
President Joe Biden would be required to halt all business dealings with TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, under the tortuously named Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act.
It instructs Biden to impose access restrictions on the service using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), claiming that ByteDance’s gathering of American user data and susceptibility to Chinese government pressure represent a security concern.
Companion legislation is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL); Rubio did not indicate a Democratic co-sponsor in the Senate.
In a Washington Post article published last month, Rubio and Gallagher revealed their ideas. The two authors argued that TikTok gives the CCP the unusual opportunity to keep an eye on more than 1 billion users worldwide, including nearly two-thirds of American youths.
“TikTok’s use in the United States will continue to risk our country’s safety and pave the path for a Chinese-influenced tech environment here unless TikTok and its algorithm can be isolated from Beijing,” the report stated. Although the measure only specifically mentions TikTok and ByteDance, it would also apply to other significant Chinese social media companies, as stated in the Post.
The bill introduced today comes on the wake of many state-level directives banning TikTok on official equipment. Following similar directives from South Dakota and Maryland, this week saw the suspension of the app from government-issued devices in Utah and Texas. Since the Trump administration sought and largely abandoned a full-scale statewide ban, mainly successful in funding Oracle through a data auditing arrangement, TikTok has been a sore spot for Republican leaders.
Trump’s proposed ban was vague and contentious, and it also referenced the IEEPA. They emphasized the broad range of the president’s emergency powers but also came under intense court scrutiny. In 2021, the Biden administration overturned Trump’s decision and replaced it with a directive to investigate TikTok for any potential dangers to national security.
TikTok’s spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement that the company was striving to satisfy lawmakers’ concerns. “It is distressing that some members of Congress have chosen to press for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to enhance the national security of the United States,” said Oberwetter. “Instead of urging the administration to conclude its national security examination of TikTok.
“We will continue to advise members of Congress on the initiatives to further safeguard our platform in the United States that have been devised and are already being implemented under the supervision of our nation’s top national security agencies.”
A version of Rubio’s plan might pass the Republican-controlled House, but its chances in the Democrat-controlled Senate appear to be lower, and Biden himself seems unlikely to sign it. If it were to pass, it would encounter the same legal difficulties Trump did in addition to the wrath of millions of American consumers.
