USA News: On Wednesday, a group of US lawmakers approved the prohibition of the Chinese TikTok be banned in the country. The majority of MPs used India as an example, stating that it has chosen to outlaw TikTok app while taking national security into consideration. The ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Advisory Controlled Applications Act’ was the subject of a vote in the US Congress’ lower house, the House of Representatives, on Wednesday. In America, this measure outlaws foreign apps like TikTok app and others.
TikTok be banned in US
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that views the Chinese video app TikTok’s current ownership structure as a security risk. In the event that the Chinese owner does not sell the property within six months, the well-known video app TikTok will be subject to a nationwide ban.
Chinese government has control over ByteDance: US Parliament
After passing by a vote of 352-65, the bill will now be forwarded to the Senate. 150 million Americans use the TikTok app, which is a division of ByteDance Ltd., a Chinese technology company. The legislators contended that the Chinese government controls ByteDance. The Chinese authorities may request access to the data of American TikTok users in such a scenario.
Why is the US Parliament trying to ban TikTok app?
The House passed a bill on Wednesday that is the most recent round in a political war that has been waging on over the platform since its launch in 2017. 2018 saw a sharp rise in downloads across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, and a 45% rise in monthly active users between July 2020 and July 2022.
Some senators expressed concern over the platform’s explosive growth because they think TikTok’s parent business, which is based in China, may be collecting sensitive user data and censoring content that is critical of the Chinese government.
Congress’ worries were increased by press reports revealing that ByteDance staff members located in China had access to private information regarding American TikTok users. TikTok has consistently maintained that it has not and will not provide the Chinese government with user data from US users.
According to TikTok, US customer data is stored in Singapore and the US rather than China, and it is routed through cloud infrastructure run by US corporation Oracle. TikTok began processing data pertaining to EU citizens in Ireland in 2023.
Numerous US senators have expressed dissatisfaction with these procedures, and in March 2023, Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, was called before Congress and subjected to over five hours of intense interrogation regarding these and other practices. Legislators questioned Chew about his own citizenship, claiming he was loyal to China. Indeed, he is a Singaporean.
Over the past year, many measures to regulate TikTok and its handling of US user data have been proposed in Congress; on Wednesday, the bill was finally passed.
How would a TikTok ban be implemented?
Because the internet is decentralized, it would be difficult to enforce a ban. The House passed a law that would fine app retailers every day for allowing users to download TikTok, but it would be challenging to remove individual users’ access to the app from their phones.
VPNs, or virtual private networks, which reroute computer connections to different locations, make it easy to avoid tactics like these on computer browsers. Internet service providers may also be required to ban IP addresses linked to TikTok.
The US government would have to deploy techniques pioneered by nations like China and Iran, whose internet infrastructure makes content restrictions easier to execute, in order to completely restrict access to TikTok.
Who against the app TikTok bill?
TikTok has strongly opposed the bill and asked the Senate to hold off on passing it. Following Wednesday’s vote, Alex Haurek, a spokesman for TikTok, stated, “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Republican, was among the 15 Republicans who voted against the bill in the House. She brought up her personal experience of being blocked from social media. After the vote, TikTok developers joined House Democrats Maxwell Frost of Florida and Delia Ramirez of Illinois outside the Capitol to voice their opposition to the plan.
Addressing worries about freedom of speech, a few Senate Democrats have already openly opposed the bill and proposed alternatives that would address concerns about foreign influence on social media in general rather than explicitly targeting TikTok. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated, “We need social media restrictions, but we need those restrictions to apply across the board.” Regarding the Senate’s next actions, majority leader Chuck Schumer said in an unbiased statement that the chamber will “review the legislation when it comes over from the House.”
Advocacy groups for civil rights and freedom of speech have strongly opposed a ban, claiming that it might have a significant impact on the internet as a whole. They contend that, despite their shortcomings, TikTok’s data policies are not really unlike from those of US-based internet companies.
“Banneking TikTok is the wrong solution; it’s not perfect,” stated Jenna Ruddock, policy counsel at Free Press, a media advocacy group. Like other well-known sites, including ones owned by Google and Meta, TikTok gathers excessive amounts of user data. However, taking down areas dedicated to free speech arbitrarily restricts people’s access to knowledge and closes off channels for artists to foster a sense of community.
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Q. Why are they banning TikTok in usa?
Chinese control of TikTok is under question. According to U.S. officials, parent company ByteDance may provide Beijing access to the personal data of the 170 million Americans who use the well-known short-video app. Opponents of the law have expressed worries about free speech.
Q. Which country banned TikTok first?
Because of its ties to the Chinese government, MPs and officials have stated that Beijing can access user data via TikTok, making the app a security risk. Even the US government acknowledged that India was the first nation to outlaw the platform because it violated policy.
Q. Is TikTok banned in the US when?
A bipartisan plan that would force ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the social media app or risk having it banned on all US devices was unanimously approved by the House on Wednesday. There was a 352-65 vote. The Senate’s position on the proposal remains uncertain.
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