TikTok would be banned in the United States
Fears over data collection by the Chinese app are considering the possibility of it being banned.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said a US ban on TikTok is worth considering, citing the Chinese ownership of the company behind the video-sharing platform.
A group of Senate lawmakers recently revived legislation to ban TikTok in the US in response to concerns that the data it collects could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
Schumer said Sunday on ABC, “We know that there is Chinese ownership of the company that owns TikTok. And some people in the Commerce Committee are looking into that right now. We’ll see where they come from.”
A similar measure failed in the last Congress. The renewed attempt is likely to provoke opposition from the tech lobby and pit lawmakers against millions of mostly young users of the platform.
Several anti-TikTok bills have been introduced in recent days and Schumer, who has criticized TikTok in the past, has not endorsed any specific measures. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will appear before the House Committee on Commerce and Energy on March 23.
TikTok Inc. COO Vanessa Pappas told a Senate hearing in September that the company has strict controls over access to data and where it is stored and that it would not give that data to the Chinese government.
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