Today the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices. Senator Hawley’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
“TikTok is an immediate security threat that has no place on government devices. This should not be a partisan issue and I’m glad to see my colleagues in the Senate act together to address Beijing’s covert data collection campaign. Banning TikTok from government devices is a good first step towards taking Chinese espionage seriously.”
Senator Josh Hawley
Senator Scott said, “I applaud the Committee’s unanimous passage of our legislation to ban the use of TikTok, which is connected to the Chinese Communist Party, by federal employees on government devices. Communist China has shown again and again that it will stop at nothing to infiltrate our government networks and steal American technology. Today’s passage is a critical step to protecting our national security.”
“There is absolutely no reason why TikTok, an application that Beijing can use to collect Americans’ personal data, should be available on government devices,” Senator Rubio said. “I am glad to see the Senate finally moving forward on this issue.”
Senator Cotton said, “TikTok gathers and then stores private information on servers accessible by the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok shouldn’t be allowed on government devices, and I’m pleased to see our bill advance out of committee.”
Senator Hawley originally introduced the No TikTok on Government Devices Act in March 2020, following a Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee hearing he chaired, entitled “Dangerous Partners: Big Tech & Beijing,” when TikTok refused to testify. In August 2020, the bill passed the Senate unanimously.