Some US lawmakers have introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
The new bill by Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a bipartisan pair of congressmen in the House, reflects the latest move by US policymakers against the Chinese-owned short-form video app.
There have been reports that TikTok lacks the ability to safeguard US user data from the Chinese government.
The proposed legislation on Tuesday December 13, would “block and prohibit all transactions” in the United States by social media companies with at least one million monthly users that are based in, or under the “substantial influence” of, countries that are considered foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.
For years TikTok has been having discussions with the US government on a potential deal that may allow the company to address the national security concerns and to continue serving US users.