The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a rule that would ban the use of the TikTok app by federal employees on government-owned devices.
The ‘No TikTok on Government Devices Act’ came as state governments have taken steps this week — such as North Dakota or Iowa — to limit use of the app over fears that Beijing will use the data to spy on Americans, ‘The Hill’ newspaper has reported.
U.S. lawmakers have said they fear the data, collected by the company, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, could be passed on to the Chinese government.
«TikTok is a Trojan horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It is a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to completely sever ties with China, it has no place on government devices,» said Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
The measure must still be approved by the House of Representatives before it goes to the desk of the President of the country, Joe Biden, to be signed and take effect.
