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Congress has decided to go forward with the “politically-motivated” ban but it still wont dont anything to national security in the u.s. 

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Congress has decided to go forward with the “politically-motivated” ban but it still wont dont anything to national security in the u.s. 

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/tech/tiktok-ban-bill/index.html

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A trio of US lawmakers has introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.

The new bill by Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a bipartisan pair of congressmen in the House, reflects the latest escalation by US policymakers against the Chinese-owned short-form video app. TikTok has faced doubts about its ability to safeguard US user data from the Chinese government.

The proposed legislation would "block and prohibit all transactions" in the United States by social media companies with at least one million monthly users that are based in, or under the "substantial influence" of, countries that are considered foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

The bill specifically names TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, as social media companies for the purposes of the legislation. Rubio and one of the House sponsors of the bill, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, had indicated their intention to introduce the bill in a Washington Post op-ed last month.

The legislation comes as a wave of states led by Republican governors have introduced state-level restrictions on the use of TikTok on government-owned devices. In the past two weeks, at least seven states have introduced such measures, including Maryland, South Dakota and Utah.

The flurry of activity contrasts with the lengthy negotiations TikTok has been having for years with the US government on a potential deal that may allow the company to address the national security concerns and to continue serving US users.

"The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok," Rubio said in a statement. "There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good."

"It's troubling that rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States," Hilary McQuaide, a spokesperson for TikTok, said in a statement.

"We will continue to brief members of Congress on the plans that have been developed under the oversight of our country's top national security agencies-plans that we are well underway in implementing-to further secure our platform in the United States," McQuaide added.

TikTok has previously said it doesn't share information with the Chinese government and that a US-based security team decides who can access US user data from China. TikTok has also previously acknowledged that employees based in China can currently access user data.

Tuesday's bill is not the only federal legislation to target TikTok. Last year, US lawmakers proposed a law that would ban TikTok usage by federal agencies, and Rubio introduced a bill that would force some app makers to disclose ownership information. Another bill introduced this fall would prohibit TikTok from allowing China-based employees to access the user data of US citizens.

Already, the US military, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have restricted TikTok from devices under their control.

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US lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok | CNN Business

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A trio of US lawmakers has introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States. The new bill by Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a bipartisan pair of congressmen in the House, reflects the latest escalation by US policymakers against the Chinese-owned short-form video app.

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 “ Others, including policy-makers, are concerned that high and increasing levels of always-on Internet access and the production and wide dissemination of large amounts of violent extremist content online may have violent radicalizing effects (Berger and Strathearn 2013; Carter, Maher, and Neumann 2014; Edwards and Gribbon 2013; Gray and Head 2009; Stenersen 2008). This is, after all, a primary goal of the producers of such content.’’ 

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 “ Others, including policy-makers, are concerned that high and increasing levels of always-on Internet access and the production and wide dissemination of large amounts of violent extremist content online may have violent radicalizing effects (Berger and Strathearn 2013; Carter, Maher, and Neumann 2014; Edwards and Gribbon 2013; Gray and Head 2009; Stenersen 2008). This is, after all, a primary goal of the producers of such content.’’ 

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A ban would be a breach of people's Civil Liberties, its people's choice whether they want to use a certain app, regardless of the privacy risks.https://fee.org/articles/efforts-to-ban-tiktok-are-getting-real-heres-why-that-would-be-a-mistake/

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A ban would be a breach of people's Civil Liberties, its people's choice whether they want to use a certain app, regardless of the privacy risks.https://fee.org/articles/efforts-to-ban-tiktok-are-getting-real-heres-why-that-would-be-a-mistake/

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“The President concluded that TikTok's foreign ownership and data collection pose a risk that the Chinese Communist Party ("CCP") can "access ... Americans' personal and proprietary information—potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage." Id. He also concluded that there is a risk of the CCP using TikTok to "censor[] content that the [CCP] deems politically sensitive," id., and "for disinformation campaigns that benefit the [CCP], such as when TikTok videos spread debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus." Id.

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“The President concluded that TikTok's foreign ownership and data collection pose a risk that the Chinese Communist Party ("CCP") can "access ... Americans' personal and proprietary information—potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage." Id. He also concluded that there is a risk of the CCP using TikTok to "censor[] content that the [CCP] deems politically sensitive," id., and "for disinformation campaigns that benefit the [CCP], such as when TikTok videos spread debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus." Id.

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)evidence/citation: 490 F.Supp.3d 73 (2020)TIKTOK INC., et al., Plaintiffs,v.Donald J. TRUMP, President of the United States, et al., Defendants.Civil Action No.1:20-cv-02658(CJN).United States District Court, District of Columbia.Signed

September 27, 202

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Tiktok is owned by a company called Bytedance in Beijing. They collect information about each user on the app, which could give China the advantage if there were to be some sort of war or disagreement.

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GOP Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would ban TikTok. NPR's A Martinez talks to Aynne Kokas, professor of media studies and the director of the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

The FBI says the video-sharing app TikTok poses national security concerns. The app is owned by the company ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing. And FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers yesterday that the Chinese government could use the app to influence users or control their devices. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has introduced a bill that would ban the app nationwide.

We're going to turn to Aynne Kokas. She's professor of media studies and the director of the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. Her new book is "Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning The Battle For Digital Sovereignty." Professor, TikTok, I think everyone knows you get viral videos, funny ones at that. But tell us about what more TikTok is used for and who uses it.

AYNNE KOKAS: So TikTok has a wide range of uses. Users under the age of 30 are - have used that as a platform for gaining political knowledge. We also see this is a site where people actually use it to search for information about the world. So in addition to it being an entertainment platform, it's also become a form of critical communications infrastructure.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, as we heard, FBI Director Chris Wray and Senator Marco Rubio are among those who say that the Chinese Communist Party could use TikTok to spy on Americans, including government workers. TikTok says, no. It's not happening. But, professor, how would that work? How could the app be used as a spying tool?

KOKAS: So what's really interesting about TikTok is that it's part of a larger Chinese government effort to expand extraterritorial control over digital platforms. So the Chinese government has allowed for and has encouraged Chinese firms to actually engage in national security data audits of any data that's being gathered by a Chinese firm. Now, TikTok, which has a parent company in ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, is subject to those same national security data audits because it shares data with its parent company, ByteDance.

MARTÍNEZ: So the Chinese government really believes that this digital space is actually territory that, I guess, for lack of a better word, could be conquered?

KOKAS: Absolutely. And so this is something that's been very clearly articulated time and time again from the 2010 white paper on the internet in China all the way to the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, which allows oversight of national security interests outside of China.

MARTÍNEZ: Wow. Now, Americans use a number of apps owned by Chinese companies. WeChat, that's one that I can think of. Does it make sense, professor, to ban one app and maybe leave the others alone?

KOKAS: So this is where the challenge with the Rubio bill comes out. When we look at all of these wide-ranging apps that are connected to Chinese firms, it's actually almost nonsensical to ban just one when we see platforms in areas like precision agriculture, communications, gaming all connected to Chinese firms. So it's really important to develop more robust data privacy regulations in the United States to protect users.

MARTÍNEZ: OK. So banning, then, you would think, is maybe not the correct move altogether?

KOKAS: Essentially, it's playing a game of whack-a-mole as we see this expansion of China's digital territory.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Aynne Kokas. She's the director of the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. Her new book is called "Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning The Battle For Digital Sovereignty." Professor, thanks.

KOKAS: Thank you so much.

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FBI says China could use TikTok to spy on Americans, including government workers

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GOP Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would ban TikTok. NPR's A Martinez talks to Aynne Kokas, professor of media studies and the director of the East Asia Center at the University of Virginia. A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: The FBI says the video-sharing app TikTok poses national security concerns.

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Trying to say Tik Tok is a “threat to national security” makes no sense because it's just taking away your country's people's right to use an app. Source:https://altahawkeye.org/1605/uncategorized/tiktok-should-not-be-banned/#:~:text=In%20the%20end%20if%20Tiktok,away%20people%20express%20their%20creativity.

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Trying to say Tik Tok is a “threat to national security” makes no sense because it's just taking away your country's people's right to use an app. Source:https://altahawkeye.org/1605/uncategorized/tiktok-should-not-be-banned/#:~:text=In%20the%20end%20if%20Tiktok,away%20people%20express%20their%20creativity.

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The Tiktok algorithm caters to what it kind of content the user likes the most. This could promote things like depressing content, eating disorders, and the promotion of other mental illnesses. This has a negative impact on users, especially younger viewers who are exposed to this content.

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In a bipartisan effort, several attorneys general from around the country are launching investigations into TikTok and the effect it has on the physical and mental health of the nation's children, according to The Associated Press.

The investigation: At least eight states are holding investigations into the video-sharing platform, according to The New York Times.

The focus of the investigation is to identify the dangers TikTok poses to children, and if the people running the app are aware of these harms, reads a statement from the California attorney general's office.

Is TikTok dangerous?: "Our children are growing up in the age of social media - and many feel like they need to measure up the filtered versions of reality that they see on their screens. We know this takes a devastating toll on children's mental health and well-being." said California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta.

Some experts believe that TikTok's algorithm can promote content related to depression, anxiety and eating disorders, according to CBS News.

In 2021, The Wall Street Journal conducted its own investigation into the app.

The journal created 100 "bot" accounts, giving them each different ages, genders, locations and interests.

The bots were programmed to linger on videos that related to their programmed interests. These interests were never entered into the app. One bot was given an interest in sadness and depression-related videos.

Within 36 minutes of creating this bot account, the TikTok algorithm learned that the user was interested in depression-related content.

Eventually, about 93% of the content on the bots "for you" page was about sadness and depression.

"Officially, the company says that shares, likes, follows and what you watch all play a role in what TikTok shows you," said The Wall Street Journal. "We found that TikTok only needs one of these to figure you out, how long you linger over a piece of content. Every second you hesitate or rewatch, the app is tracking you."

What is TikTok?: TikTok is a short video sharing app that was created in 2016. With one billion active monthly users, TikTok is the fastest-growing social media app, according to the app's statistics.

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Investigation: Does TikTok have a bad effect on kids' mental health?

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In a bipartisan effort, several attorneys general from around the country are launching investigations into TikTok and the effect it has on the physical and mental health of the nation's children, according to The Associated Press. The investigation: At least eight states are holding investigations into the video-sharing platform, according to The New York Times.