RESTRICTing TikTok: New Senate Bill Creates Process to Ban Risky Foreign Apps

A new proposed bill in the Senate would make it easier for the president to ban Chinese Communist government-tied app TikTok.

The Risk Information and Communications Technology Act, or RESTRICT Act, proposed by a bipartisan coalition in the Senate would empower the Secretary of Commerce to restrict or ban apps posing a national security risk, according to a press release published by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) who introduced the bill. The bill did not name TikTok specifically but covered companies in China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) co-sponsors the bill, along with ten other senators.

The bill would create a framework to access and then target risky foreign companies rather than explicitly targeting just TikTok, the press release explained. 

A whistleblower reportedly told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that employees of TikTok’s parent ByteDance can easily access US TikTok user data. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) owns a board seat and financial stake in the Chinese parent company.