House lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would ban TikTok from US app stores unless the social media platform’s parent, ByteDance, divests the company.

The measure that sailed unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee would prohibit TikTok from US app stores unless the social media platform — used by roughly 170 million Americans — is quickly spun off from its China-linked parent company, ByteDance.

US officials have cited the widespread commercial availability of US citizens’ data as another source of national security risk. The US government and other domestic law enforcement agencies are also known to have purchased US citizens’ data from commercial data brokers.

  • RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works
    81·
    9 months ago

    Why not just pass some privacy protection laws with some actual teeth? Why single out a single company? They think TikTok is the only one making US citizens’ data commercially available?

    • Ricky Rigatoni@lemm.ee
      8·
      9 months ago

      because then the US companies won’t be able to legally spy on us and send all that info to the government

    • irreticent@lemmy.world
      4·
      9 months ago

      Because it was never about data protection or privacy. The issue is that the US government wants a monopoly on US users’ data.