US lawmakers give Biden powers to ban Tiktok

Admin l Wednesday, March 01, 2023

 

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the United State House of representatives have succeeded in passing  a bill that will give President Joe Biden the powers to impose ban on Chinese short video App, Tiktok on American mobile devices.

The US House Foreign Committee passed the bill by a vote of 25 to 16. A total of 16 democrats voted against the bill.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Michael McCaul described the App as dangerous to be on phones in the United States.

“Everybody knows what TikTok is,” committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Tuesday as the panel debated the fate of the popular Chinese-owned video app. “It’s too dangerous to be on our phones as members of Congress. In my judgment, it’s too dangerous to be on our children’s phones. That’s the whole point of this bill.”

The United States passed the bill just as the European nation has  imposed ban on Tiktok from being used on devices owned by staff.

The European Commission feels that the App should be off the phones for security reasons.

The planned ban will also apply to private devices with Parliament email and other network access installed on them, an EU official said on Tuesday, adding that the decision is expected to be announced soon.