U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated that he has yet to decide whether to ban TikTok, the overseas version of the Chinese video-sharing app Douyin, in the United States. However, Congress is about to take legislative action and may soon send related bills to the president for his signature.
When Biden returned to the White House after spending the weekend at Camp David on Monday (February 6, 2023), he was asked by the media whether the United States would completely ban TikTok.
He replied, "I'm not sure, but I know I don't have it on my own phone."
Biden signed a law last year banning the use of TikTok on federally owned devices. But since then, at least 27 state governments, including those led by Democrats, have passed full or partial bans on the app.
For the past two years, TikTok has been negotiating with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, hoping to formulate a set of US user data management plans that must convince Washington to approve TikTok's continued operation in the US.
The White House on Friday declined to comment on CFIUS' negotiations with TikTok, or whether it would support a blanket ban on TikTok.
Republican Representative Mike Gallagher (Mike Gallagher), the first chairman of the Select Committee on China Affairs of the House of Representatives, met with Michael Beckerman, the head of public policy of TikTok Americas Business Department, and others last Wednesday (February 2, 2023), discussing the US user data management plan that the company plans to launch. Afterward, a spokesman for Senator Gallagher said the councilors "thanks for their time but do not find their case convincing." The spokesman said Senator Gallagher still plans to roll out a bill to ban TikTok across the board.
The Republican-dominated House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to vote this month on a bill to ban TikTok across the board.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to hold a dedicated hearing on March 23. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has promised to testify at that time.
Some analysts said that the White House is worried that the comprehensive ban on TikTok, which is widely used by young people, will cause Biden, who may seek re-election, to lose many young votes in the 2024 US general election. Biden himself has not commented on the claim, but growing numbers in his Democratic Party believe the U.S. should ban TikTok across the board.
Last week, Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado urged Apple and Google to immediately remove TikTok from their app stores due to national security concerns.
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