Possible news article:
US lawmakers propose bill that could lead to ban on TikTok
TikTok, the popular video-sharing app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced scrutiny from US politicians over concerns that the Chinese government could use the platform to access user data and exert influence.
Now, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill that could pave the way for a ban on TikTok in the United States.
The bill, called the Restrict Act (Senate Bill 686), does not explicitly ban TikTok, but it instructs the Secretary of Commerce to investigate any information technology or communications companies that are owned or could be influenced by foreign adversaries to see if they pose a national security threat.
If the Secretary of Commerce finds that TikTok poses a threat, they would have broad authority to mitigate any dangerous transactions, including a ban.
The Biden administration has endorsed the bill, but it still has a long way to go before a ban on TikTok becomes a reality.
The bill must first pass the Senate and the House, and be signed into law by the president.
Then, the Secretary of Commerce would have to choose to investigate TikTok specifically, find that it poses a threat, and decide that a ban is the best course of action.
Any ban would also have to successfully defend against legal challenges.
If a ban on TikTok does happen, one possible option would be to make it illegal for any American company to do business with TikTok, which would force Apple, Google, and other companies to remove it from their app stores.
TikTok has criticized the proposal, calling it an act of censorship on its American users.
While some lawmakers do not support a ban on TikTok, they would like to see some restrictions on the app, which the Restrict Act could also allow.
As of now, the future of TikTok in the US remains uncertain.
