Efforts are underway to ban TikTok nationwide
With over a billion users, TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms, but there are now efforts underway to ban the app nationwide.
A bipartisan Senate bill, if approved, would give the federal government authority to tighten controls over companies that operate within hostile foreign countries and collect the personal data of Americans.
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company that does not share data with the Chinese government.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already spoken out against a similar bill in the House, saying it violates the First Amendment and the 1988 law that protects the right to receive information regardless of its country of origin.
"Think of people streaming their experiences amidst the protests in Iran. Covid lockdowns in China. The war on Ukraine. People use TikTok to create content and share information that increases news awareness, that increases civic engagement."
Last week, the White House gave federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. That followed bans by Congress, the US Armed Forces, and more than half of US state governments.