WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 TikTok would be banned from most U.S. government devices under a spending bill Congress unveiled early Tuesday, the latest push by American lawmakers against the Chinese-owned social media app.
The $1.7 trillion package includes requirements for the Biden administration to prohibit most uses of TikTok or any other app created by its owner, ByteDance Ltd. The requirements would apply to the executive branch 鈥 with exemptions for national security, law enforcement and research purposes 鈥 and don't appear to cover Congress, where a handful of lawmakers .
TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has in the world. But there's in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.
Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok, called the ban 鈥渁 political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests.鈥 TikTok is developing security and data privacy plans as part of by President Joe Biden's administration.
鈥淭hese plans have been developed under the oversight of our country鈥檚 top national security agencies 鈥 plans that we are well underway in implementing 鈥 to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to brief lawmakers on them,鈥 Oberwetter said in a statement.
Speaking Friday, CIA Director William Burns said Beijing can 鈥渋nsist upon extracting the private data of a lot of TikTok users in this country and also to shape the content of what goes on to TikTok as well to suit the interests of the Chinese leadership.鈥
鈥淚 think those are real challenges and a source of real concern,鈥 Burns told PBS. He declined to take a position on congressional efforts to limit TikTok.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was pushing to include the TikTok provision in the big year-end bill, her office said. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who authored a version of the TikTok bill that passed the Senate last week, called the government device ban 鈥渢he first major strike against Big Tech enacted into law."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Hawley said users should have the right to use TikTok without having their data subject to Beijing's control. He called for the Biden administration to force ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations. Courts blocked former President Donald Trump's to ban TikTok from U.S. smartphone app stores.
鈥淲e shouldn't have to ban it,鈥 Hawley said. 鈥淧ut up a firewall between Beijing and TikTok.鈥
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., has co-sponsored legislation to prohibit TikTok from operating in the U.S. altogether. He called the government device ban an appropriate initial step and said there was a 鈥済roundswell of support鈥 for wider action.
鈥淲e're not just talking about Republicans and Democrats and independents,鈥 said Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. 鈥淲e're talking about parents who are concerned broadly about social media and TikTok in particular.鈥
___
Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
