| Federal TikTok Ban |
| The White House is giving government agencies 30 days to remove Chinese-owned TikTok from federal devices over security concerns surrounding the video-sharing app. Congress approved the ban in December. The news comes amid concerns TikTok could be used by Beijing to collect individual private data. Canada, the European Commission, and Taiwan have recently made similar bans, and other western countries, including Denmark, are considering implementing bans. ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, previously denied using the app to spy on Americans; however, reports revealed it accessed US user data and planned to use it to track American citizens, including journalists. A Chinese official said the concerns are driven by misinformation, and the US ban is an abuse of state power by suppressing foreign companies. Separately, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is poised to advance a proposed bill this week that would allow the president to ban TikTok from all US devices. |
