Two US Senators are all set to introduce a new bill in the legislature to let the government ban a few foreign software and tech companies. As per reports, the popular short-video platform TikTok might be on the list.
In a comment made on Fox News Sunday, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, confirmed that TikTok is one of the foreign apps that would be under review for the foreign tech ban.
The decision to ban TikTok is further fueled by the concerns of US government officials that TikTok might be selling the data of millions of US users to the Chinese government.
If the bill is passed with TikTok on the list of apps to be banned, the power will reside in the hands of President Joe Biden to ban the app. If he decides to go through with the ban, it would go down in the history of the US as one of the biggest and far-reaching restrictions on a social media app.
The decision comes as concern over TikTok’s influence on the public. Warner describes the platform as a “propaganda tool” based on the types of videos it sends to the user’s feed.
In terms of foreign technology coming into America, we’ve got to have a systematic approach to make sure we can ban or prohibit it when necessary.Mark Warner
Warner plans to introduce the bill by this week along with Republican Senator John Thune. Another spokesperson on his behalf confirmed that the bill would be announced by Tuesday. The remaining content of the bill remains elusive, and the spokesperson wasn’t available to make any further comment on what else the bill might contain.
More Context
It’s not just in the USA; lawmakers all across Europe and Canada are contemplating banning TikTok, citing security threats. In fact, the White House has directed all government agencies to remove TikTok from government devices. Canada and the European Union have also decided to ban the app from government devices.
All these concerns stem from the fact that Chinese laws allow the government to secretly demand user data from a Chinese company for intelligence-gathering operations.
With the danger of a probable ban lurking, it remains to see if its technological investments would pay off for TikTok.
This potential setback comes at a time when TikTok is rapidly expanding its services and refurbishing the platform. It was only recently that TikTok announced the app’s collaboration with Mercedes such that all new car models have the app built into the central car console.
Similarly, TikTok has also heavily invested in its new range of AI-powered filters that look unrealistically natural. Unlike the 2D and 3D filters so far that had a tendency to wrap, this filter fits your face just as naturally as your real skin. Whether you laugh, cry or cover your face with your hands, this filter is not coming off.
The filter received mixed responses from the public. While some appreciated the technology behind this advanced filter, others expressed concern over its impact on unrealistic beauty standards.
