US TikTok ban gets closer to passing with Senate bill that Biden may support to codify authority on tech threats
- The bill would codify an existing executive order issued under Donald Trump allowing the president to ban or prohibit foreign technologies when necessary
- It does not name TikTok or its owner ByteDance and could be applied to more companies and technologies
The White House is likely to support the bill, as it would update and codify authorities granted to the Commerce Department through an existing executive order, issued under former president Donald Trump, to manage threats to information and communications technology, according to people familiar with the matter.
That approach differs from other proposals winding their way through Congress, which would allow President Joe Biden to outright ban TikTok. The Warner bill, however, could be applied to more companies and technologies, and would grant the Commerce Department the authority to scrutinise any threats and decide on remedies.
Lawmakers say the measures are intended to counter security threats from apps like TikTok, which they say can be used to gather user data or as tools for propaganda. Last week, legislation authorising the US to ban TikTok in the US advanced through the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican.
Separately, the company’s operations in the US are under investigation by the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is led by the Treasury Department. The company and the Biden administration have so far been unable to reach a mitigation agreement that resolves the government’s national security concerns.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Warner, a Virginia Democrat, had called it “a broad bipartisan bill” that would be co-sponsored by Republican John Thune of South Dakota.