TikTok ban could be MONTHS away after US bill passed – history shows government will ‘follow the pack’, says expert
A TIKTOK ban could only be months away as the UK is likely to follow the US, an expert has revealed.
On Wednesday, the US house overwhelmingly voted in favour of a bill that would require the parent company of the app to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban.
Concerns over the Chinese social media app escalated last year among Western governments over its pervasive data collection.
One expert says the UK could follow the US’ lead and seek to ban the app for its 25million users here.
Robyn Caplan, assistant professor at Duke University, said that countries normally moved in “packs” against TikTok.
Caplan told iNews: “As we saw last year with bans of TikTok on government devices, many other countries, including Britain, banned TikTok on government devices like the US.”
TikTok was banned off UK government devices in March last year after the government deemed the app a security risk.
The US government banned the app from most government devices in 2022, just months before the UK.
Alongside the US, the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Taiwan have banned people working for government agencies from having TikTok on staff devices.
Joe Biden has confirmed he will sign the law if Congress passes the bill, but it still has to pass the Senate.
Any UK legislation would take some time to be discussed and passed through Westminster.
Anupam Chander, professor of law and technology at Georgetown University, said TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, could restructure the business in the UK to try and avoid the same fate.
Chander said: “It would now have to figure out how to interoperate with a third-party company, and two apps called ‘TikTok’.”
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has previously hinted at mirroring country-wide bans, saying the UK will “look at what our allies are doing”.
TikTokers sign up for a considerable amount of data collection when they create an account on the platform, such as:
- The device and operating system you’re using
- How long you watch a post for
- What categories you like
- Where you’re located
- The keystroke rhythms you have when you type
TikTok urged senators to listen to their constituents before taking any action.
A spokesperson said: “This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: It’s a ban.
As we saw last year with bans of TikTok on government devices, many other countries, including Britain, banned TikTok on government devices like the US
Professor Robyn Caplan
“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realise the impact on the economy, seven million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the US of “suppressing TikTok” despite never having found evidence that TikTok threatens national security.
He added: “This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order.
“In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself.”
TikTok has denied that it can be used as a tool by the Chinese government, claiming that it has never shared US users’ data with Chinese authorities and that it would refuse to do so if asked.
What has happened with TikTok in the US?
The US House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday by an overwhelming margin of 352-65 to ban the app.
The bill now moves to the Senate which could pass the same bill, pass a similar bill and send it back to the House, or vote down the bill.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not indicated how he plans to proceed.
But Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill into law if Congress passes it.
The measure would give TikTok‘s Chinese owner ByteDance six months to divest the US assets of the short-video app – or face a ban.
It comes amid concerns over ByteDance’s alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Lawmakers contend that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government so it could demand access to the data of TikTok consumers in the US – of whom there are about 170 million – any time it wants.