(HorizonPost.com) – Legislation that is supported by President Biden includes a sly measure that will allow the administration to work around it, according to the Free Beacon. The RESTRICT Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Democrat Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Thune, will address the national security risks posed by social media applications owned by foreign adversaries, such as TikTok.
However, critics of the bill say that it does not specifically mention TikTok, which has already been designated as a threat to national security. FBI Director Christopher Wray agrees with many lawmakers, saying that the Chinese government can use the app to spy on millions of Americans, according to Reuters.
“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government—and it, to me, it screams out with national security concerns,” Wray said.
Rep. Jim Banks accused the Biden administration of supporting the legislation because it does not act upon their “benefactors, China and Big Tech.”
In June 2022, it was discovered that TikTok was collecting information from users’ iOS clipboards, according to American Pigeon. Former President Donald Trump reportedly signed an executive order in August 2020 banning the application, alleging that it enables the Chinese government to build databases of American users that may be used for blackmail.
Instead of banning the app, the RESTRICT Act permits the Commerce Department to review and prohibit unsafe technology. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, came out in support of the bill, lauding the decision to take action against national security threats while not naming any one company.
Democrats are reportedly hesitant to support banning the app outright because of its popularity with its leftist base that the president has used to reach out to young prospective voters. To solidify speculation surrounding the relationship between the company and the Democratic Party, TikTok has reportedly hired a Democratic public relations firm whose founding partner is a senior advisor to Biden.
The hire comes amid the news that the U.S. government is seeking app regulation.
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