The US House of Representatives has endorsed a bill that could ban TikTok, expressing concerns over Chinese influences, while similar tensions escalate with Apple’s obedience to Chinese governmental directives against Meta apps.
The US House of Representatives has passed legislation suggesting a potential ban on the social media platform TikTok. This bill, enjoying bipartisan support and penned by Republican representative Michael McCaul, primarily addresses concerns over “the malign influence of Chinese propaganda”, as stated by McCaul. The legislation offers TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a one-year window to divest ownership. It next heads to the Senate, and if approved, President Joe Biden has expressed his intent to sign it into law.
This move forms part of a broader discourse on the security implications of foreign-owned apps, as US lawmakers scrutinize the relationship between TikTok’s operations and the Chinese government. TikTok has rebutted claims of sharing data with China or engaging in censorship, defending its independence and international management structure.
Concurrently, tensions in the tech sphere continue as Apple has removed Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China following government directives citing national security concerns. While specific reasons for this directive were not disclosed, Apple confirmed its compliance with local laws, even as it seeks to expand its operations elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including a significant investment in Singapore.
These incidents underscore ongoing global concerns about privacy, security, and market access challenges faced by international tech firms.
