Senate Democrats and Republicans have introduced bills that would give the administration new powers to ban Chinese apps that pose security threats, including the popular video-sharing platform TikTok.
Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the intelligence committee, announced the bill on Tuesday as part of an effort to create a more coordinated approach among governments to deal with threats from countries including China, Russia and Iran.
The Restrictions Act – an acronym for “Restrictions on Risky Information and Communications Technology Threats” – requires the secretary of commerce to establish a process to identify threats related to information and communication technologies and develop solutions to address them.
Warner said the legislation would give the commerce secretary additional powers, including the authority to ban foreign technology. He added that the measure would also address areas such as artificial intelligence, financial technology and quantum computing, which he said had not previously been covered by the executive branch’s authority.
“Over the past few years, foreign technology products from enemy countries . . . have really tried to establish a foothold in the American market,” said Warner. “Our tools so far are still limited. . . So instead of playing whack-a-mole . . . we need a more comprehensive approach to assessing and mitigating these threats.
The measure was introduced by dozens of senators, including Republicans John Thune and Mitt Romney. Although it did not mention TikTok by name, the administration’s struggle to reach a solution on how to regulate the viral video-sharing app, which the intelligence and security communities consider a threat to the US, is a key driver behind the bill.
Thune said the law could lead to TikTok being banned in the US.
The Committee on Foreign Investment – an inter-agency panel that evaluates foreign investment into the US – has been evaluating possible solutions that would address security threats believed by the TikTok administration, while allowing the app to continue operating.
The investigation began after ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, bought Musical.ly in 2017 and merged with TikTok. But some people at Cfius are opposed to a compromise solution.
The Restrictions Act is one of several laws that have been introduced in Congress to address the issues surrounding TikTok. The House foreign affairs committee last week passed a measure that would have given the president the authority to ban TikTok, but it did not get support from Democrats, in part because of its narrow focus on one app.
Warner and his colleagues hope that their bill, which focuses on any app they believe could pose a threat, will attract broad support.
But some Democrats expressed concern that banning TikTok would have political implications because of its popularity with young people. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo would have the power to address those threats if the bill passes. He recently said that a total ban on video sharing apps would be political suicide.
“The politician in me thinks you’re going to lose every voter under 35, forever,” Raimondo told Bloomberg in an interview.
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