Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Allow Nationwide Ban of TikTok

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Tuesday that could lead to a nationwide ban of the app TikTok.

Details: Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and eleven other senators introduced the “RESTRICT Act,” which would “authorize the Secretary of Commerce to review and prohibit certain transactions between persons in the United States and foreign adversaries.” TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, and has sparked national security concerns due to the data the app collects on its large American user base. TikTok opposed the ban, arguing instead for a proposal that would block some of the company’s U.S. operations from ByteDance.

Key Quotes: In a statement Tuesday, Warner said, “we shouldn’t let any company subject to the Chinese Communist Party’s dictates collect data on a third of our population.” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan voiced support for the bill, stating that “we look forward to continue working with both Democrats and Republicans on this bill, and urge Congress to act quickly to send it to the President’s desk.” TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued against the bill, stating that “a U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.”

How The Media Covered It: The proposed bill was covered across the spectrum, with articles frequently mentioning recent incidents exacerbating tensions between China and the U.S., such as the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the continental U.S. last month.