(HorizonPost.com) – Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, has demanded that TikTok be regulated since the site is indebted to the United States’s main geopolitical rival. Unless Bytedance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, sells its stock, a vote to ban TikTok in the United States may be revived. A measure prohibiting the US app had previously stalled in the Senate, but McConnel is threatening to resurrect it.
One of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s top priorities before the November election is legislation about TikTok.
McConnell maintains that the People’s Republic of China has always been involved in the social media giant’s operations and that any effort to force the sale of Chinese-owned enterprises would be squarely within established constitutional precedent. Detractors, like Rand Paul, say the targeting of TikTok raises constitutional questions.
A firm-sponsored survey revealed last week that TikTok injected almost $500 million into Virginia’s economy last year. As state and federal politicians examine the site, TikTok is aggressively selling a study to media outlets and disseminating it throughout its channels, in which it singles out 18 states—Virginia included—to extol its economic benefits.
President Biden has pledged to sign a nationwide TikTok ban into law if the Senate approves it after the House passed legislation in March.
Data from the technology industry is crucial to the People’s Republic of China’s interests, according to President Xi Jinping, who has said that TikTok user data has tremendous potential for economic growth. Although this threat to American data and privacy isn’t unique to TikTok, it would be addressed by the measure that would affect the app. Online and offline, spanning private, public, and governmental sectors, Chinese corporations gather data throughout Latin America, Canada, Europe, and the United States’ foreign military bases and ports.
Congress is aware of the danger. Chinese businesses must be compelled to reveal the extent and volume of data they gather and the measures they use to protect it from the Chinese government. Businesses that fail to provide this information in a verifiable way and that are not subject to audits and monitoring should not be allowed to do business in the United States or on American territory.
This strategy does not aim to single out China specifically, but it does recognize that China’s distinct and perilous laws pose a real risk to American national security due to their monitoring practices. It will take more than one Chinese corporation for Congress to handle this threat adequately.
Copyright 2024, HorizonPost.com
