US Senate Panel Approves Ban on Using Chinese Owned Video App TikTok on Government Device

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a bill by Republican Senator Josh Hawley banning federal employees from using the TikTok social media app on government-issued devices. Homeland Security and Government Affairs will be taken over by the U.S Senate for a vote.

Chinese app TikTok is widely famous among the American teens have brought scrutiny from the U.S. regulators and lawmakers, citing concerns about national security and privacy of user data. The officials fear that their personal information could fall into the hands of government officials in Beijing.

Most of the people love to make short dance, lip-sync and other videos on TikTok. Last year about 60 percent of its 26.5 million monthly active US users are aged 16 to 24.

Under Chinese law adopted in 2017, firms have an obligation to support and participate in the national intelligence work of the government. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives voted to prohibit federal employees from installing the TikTok app on government-issued devices as a part of a $741 billion defense policy bill. Lawmakers supported the plan put forward by Representative Ken Buck.

The higher officials in the Trump administration also asserted that they were contemplating a wider ban on TikTok and other Chinese-linked devices, and that action may be on the way. For example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said that Americans should be careful when using the app.

TikTok spokeswoman Jamie Favazza said that the firm's growing U.S. team has no higher priority than fostering a safe app experience that protects the privacy of users.