Dusty Johnson wants to ban TikTok on government devices in new bill
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South Dakota's lone House representative is introducing a new bill that would prevent federal workers from downloading the Chinese-owned app TikTok on government devices and block the use of the app at United States military installations, national security agencies and intelligence agencies, such as the CIA, NSA or FBI.
The "Block the Tok" bill sponsored by Dusty Johnson (R-SD) was introduced Tuesday. The legislation is the latest in the fight against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. Former President Donald Trump restricted the popular app through an executive order in 2020, although it was repealed and replaced by President Joe Biden in 2021.
"It might seem trivial to go after an app known for viral dance videos, but TikTok is a national security concern," Johnson said.
Recently, Brendan Carr, a Republican commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, spoke to a House subcommittee on national security called TikTok a "serious national security threat," because of its collection of personal data, from search history to faceprints and voiceprints.
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Carr asked Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores in June.
TikTok is not just another video app.
That’s the sheep’s clothing.
It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.
I’ve called on @Apple & @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
Johnson's bill also calls on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate TikTok's data collection practices 60 days after the bill is passed into law.
The bill would also stop TikTok and ByteDance from accessing user data from U.S. citizens currently in China.
Multiple branches of the military already block TikTok from government-issued devices and service members are encouraged not to have the app on any personal devices, according to Carr.
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This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Johnson pens bill to block download of TikTok on government devices
