A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Wednesday (June 14) introduced legislation to safeguard Americans’ data from being used by adversaries of the United States. The group consists of six senators and two members of the House of Representatives. This legislation represents the latest push from US lawmakers to address concerns about Americans’ data being used by foreign-owned tech platforms like TikTok.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat, said the bill “would turn off the tap of data to unfriendly nations, stop TikTok from sending Americans’ personal information to China, and allow nations with strong privacy protections to strengthen their relationships.”
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TikTok is used by more than 150 Americans. Many US lawmakers have voiced concerns that Chinese-owned TikTok poses a serious security risk as far as American users’ data is concerned. The lawmakers have also sounded the alarm over China’s influence over the app.
TikTok has denied all such allegations from US political circles. It says that there is no improper data use involved and the company has spent $1.5 billion on data security measures.
The legislation
The latest bill moved by the lawmakers will direct the Commerce Department to identify categories of personal data that could harm US national security. It also directs it to create a list of high-risk countries where sensitive data exports would be blocked.
The bill will also seek to regulate exports of personal data by data brokers and firms like TikTok directly to restricted foreign governments. The legislation will apply export control penalties to senior executives who knew or should have known that employees were directed to illegally export Americans’ personal data.
In the month of March, a US House Committee voted to give US President Joe Biden the power to ban the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok. That legislation, however, has not moved forward.
Last month, TikTok sued to block a planned ban by Montana, the first US state to bar the popular short-video sharing service.
Warner said the likelihood of courts overturning Montana’s ban made it essential for Congress to pass legislation to give the president new powers to ban or impose restrictions on TikTok and other foreign-owned apps.
(With inputs from agencies)
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