Why U.S. officials want to ban TikTok

Washington — Legislation that could lead to a nationalist prohibition of TikTok cleared nan Senate Tuesday nighttime successful a bipartisan ballot of 79-18, representing 1 of nan astir superior threats to nan immensely celebrated societal media app's U.S. operations. 

Some lawmakers insist they don't want to really prohibition nan level utilized by astir 170 cardinal Americans, arguing nan prime lies pinch TikTok's China-based genitor company, ByteDance. 

To support TikTok up and moving successful nan U.S., ByteDance must waste its liking successful TikTok, and it has up to a twelvemonth to do so, according to nan legislation. But nan Chinese government, which would person to motion disconnected connected immoderate sale, opposes a forced sale. Without a divestiture, nan institution would suffer entree to app stores and web-hosting providers, efficaciously banning it successful nan U.S. The timeline could beryllium prolonged by an expected ineligible battle. 

"This is not an effort to return your sound away. … This is not a prohibition of a work you appreciate," Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and nan chair of nan Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday successful a level speech, acknowledging that galore Americans are skeptical of nan legislation. "At nan extremity of nan day, they've not seen what Congress has seen." 

Why does Congress want to prohibition TikTok? 

Lawmakers person suspicions astir nan video-sharing app's ties to China and person tried to modulate it, though anterior efforts to wide restrict it person been unsuccessful. U.S. officials person many times warned that TikTok threatens nationalist information because nan Chinese authorities could usage it to spy connected Americans aliases weaponize it to covertly power nan U.S. nationalist by amplifying aliases suppressing definite content. 

The interest is warranted, U.S. officials say, because Chinese nationalist information laws require organizations to cooperate pinch intelligence gathering. FBI Director Christopher Wray told House Intelligence Committee members successful March that nan Chinese authorities could discuss Americans' devices done nan software. 

"This app is simply a spy balloon successful Americans' phones" that is "used to surveil and utilization Americans' individual information," Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs nan House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Saturday earlier nan little chamber passed nan bill arsenic portion of a broader overseas assistance package. 

In classified briefings, lawmakers person learned "how rivers of information are being collected and shared successful ways that are not well-aligned pinch American information interests," Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said Tuesday. 

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, nan apical Republican connected nan Senate Intelligence Committee, said past period that nan Chinese authorities has nan expertise to power "a batch of young people" who usage TikTok arsenic their main news source. 

"That's a nationalist information concern," Rubio said. 

Warner said Tuesday that nan truth that Chinese diplomats are lobbying legislature unit against nan legislation, which was first reported by Politico, shows "how dearly [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is invested successful this product." 

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, called nan lobbying effort "a stunning confirmation of nan worth nan Chinese authorities places connected its expertise to entree Americans' accusation and style their TikTok experience." 

Arguments against banning TikTok 

TikTok has denied that it's beholden to nan Chinese authorities and has accused lawmakers who want to restrict it of trampling connected citizens' free reside rights. TikTok executive Michael Beckerman called nan authorities "unconstitutional" and vowed to equine a ineligible challenge, according to an soul institution memo obtained by CBS News that was sent to TikTok unit connected Saturday. 

"We'll proceed to fight, arsenic this authorities is simply a clear usurpation of nan First Amendment authorities of nan 170 cardinal Americans connected TikTok and would person devastating consequences for nan 7 cardinal mini businesses that usage TikTok to scope caller customers, waste their products, and create caller jobs. This is nan beginning, not nan extremity of this agelong process," nan memo said. 

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said Tuesday connected nan Senate level that TikTok poses nationalist information risks, but nan authorities amounted to "censorship" because it could contradict Americans entree to a level they trust connected for news, business purposes, building a organization and connecting pinch others. 

"We should beryllium very clear astir nan apt result of this law," Markey said. "It's really conscionable a TikTok ban. And erstwhile we decently admit that this measure is simply a TikTok ban, we tin amended spot its effect connected free expression." 

Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, wrote successful a caller opinion piece that nan rule could beryllium a gateway to nan authorities forcing nan waste of different companies.

"If nan harm to 1 institution weren't enough, location is simply a very existent threat this ham-fisted battle connected TikTok whitethorn really springiness nan authorities nan powerfulness to unit nan waste of different companies," he wrote and predicted that  nan Supreme Court will yet norm nan rule is unconstitutional. 

Nikole Killion and Alan He contributed reporting. 

In:
• United States Congress
• TikTok
• ByteDance