 "US is moving closer to banning TikTok: Which countries have already blocked the Chinese app?")
In the greatest threat since the Trump administration, the United States House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a landmark bill that could see TikTok banned in America.
It would give the social media giant’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, six months to sell its controlling stake or the app would be blocked nationwide.
The measure is the latest in a series of moves in Washington to respond to US national security concerns about China, from connected vehicles to advanced artificial intelligence chips to cranes at US ports, according to Reuters.
Let’s take a closer look.
The bill that could ban TikTok in the US
The House on Wednesday approved a bill requiring the Beijing-based company ByteDance to sell its subsidiary TikTok, used by more than 170 million American, or face a nationwide ban.
The bill was passed by a vote of 352-65. Its prospects in the Senate are uncertain, but if it clears both chambers, President Joe Biden said he would sign it into law, reported The Associated Press.
The bill reflects lawmakers’ fears that the social media platform could expose Americans to Beijing’s malign influences and data security risks.
“This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said of TikTok on X. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added later that the Biden administration also wanted to see “the Senate take swift action,” as per Reuters.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhile US lawmakers link TikTok with China, the company, which is headquartered outside China, has strategically kept its distance from its homeland.
Since its inception, the TikTok platform has been intended for non-Chinese markets and is unavailable in mainland China. It pulled out of Hong Kong in 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory to curtail speech.
As data security concerns started to rise in the US, TikTok sought to reassure lawmakers that data gathered on American users stays in the country and is inaccessible to ByteDance employees in Beijing.
Other countries where TikTok is banned
In recent years, a growing number of countries have banned TikTok over privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
Afghanistan
In 2022, the Taliban government in Afghanistan outlawed PUBG and TikTok on the grounds that they wanted to keep youngsters from “being misled.”
Australia
The Australian government banned TikTok from running on devices. Attorney General Mark Dreyfus stated that he took the decision following consultation with the nation’s security and intelligence organisations.
Belgium
Belgium temporarily prohibited TikTok from being used on federally funded or owned devices due to concerns about misinformation, cybersecurity, and privacy.
The six-month ban, according to Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, was instituted in response to alerts from the nation’s cybersecurity centre and state security agency.
Canada
TikTok use is banned on smartphones provided by the government of Canada, as the platform poses a “unacceptable” danger to security and privacy.
Additionally, future app downloads by employees will be prohibited.
Denmark
The Danish Defence Ministry banned its workers from using TikTok on their work phones and instructed those who had loaded the app to uninstall it as soon as possible.
The ministry stated that there was a “very limited work-related need to use the app” in addition to “weighty security considerations” as the basis for the prohibition.
European Union
The three primary institutions of the 27-member bloc, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the EU Council, have banned TikTok from being used on employee devices.
Legislators and staff were also instructed to uninstall the TikTok app from their personal devices in accordance with the ban.
France
On government employees’ phones, the “recreational” use of TikTok and other social media apps like X and Instagram has been prohibited due to concerns about insufficient privacy safeguards.
In a statement, the French government mentioned that other nations had taken action against TikTok, although it did not mention any particular apps.
Indonesia
In 2018, TikTok was temporarily blocked in Indonesia due to worries about “pornography, inappropriate content, and blasphemy,” according to The Washington Post.
Less than a week after the app consented to filter part of its material, the ban was removed.
India
India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps like messaging app WeChat in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.
The ban was imposed soon after a clash between Chinese and Indian forces near a disputed boundary in the Himalayas left twenty Indian soldiers dead and numerous others injured. T
The companies were given an opportunity to address concerns over security and privacy measures, but in January 2021 the prohibition became permanent.
Nepal
TikTok was outlawed in Nepal in November 2023 due to “social harmony” violations.
According to BBC News, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said that the app distributed malicious content, which is why the ban would take effect right away.
Latvia
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted that he deleted his TikTok account and that the app is also prohibited from official foreign ministry smartphones, as per AP.
Netherlands
Because of data security concerns, the Dutch central government has barred some apps, like TikTok, from being used on employee work phones.
Civil servants are prohibited from installing and using apps “from countries with an offensive cyber programme against the Netherlands and/or Dutch interests” on their mobile work devices, according to a government statement that did not directly mention TikTok.
New Zealand
The TikTok app will not be allowed on work phones for New Zealand lawmakers or Parliament employees, as instructed by government cybersecurity experts.
All devices connected to the parliamentary network will no longer be able to use the app, but officials can make exceptions for anyone who need TikTok in order to carry out their democratic responsibilities.
Norway
The Justice Ministry of Norway issued a warning that government personnel shouldn’t install the app on their phones, leading the parliament to ban Tiktok from being used on work-related devices.
The speaker of the parliament declared that TikTok ought to be taken down as soon as possible from any devices that have access to the systems used by the assembly.
Both Oslo, the nation’s capital, and Bergen, its second-biggest city, asked municipal employees to uninstall TikTok from their work phones.
Pakistan
Pakistani authorities have temporarily banned TikTok at least four times since October 2020, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral content.
Somalia
Somalia banned TikTok in August 2023 because of content related to acts of terrorism. According to the government, terrorist organisations disseminate “horrific images and misinformation to the public” via apps like Telegram and TikTok.
Taiwan
Following the FBI’s warning that TikTok constituted a risk to national security, Taiwan banned the app in the public sector in December 2022.
Apps like Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle content app, or TikTok, its Chinese version Douyin, are examples of Chinese-made software that is prohibited from being used on government devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.
United Kingdom
TikTok was immediately removed from mobile phones used by government officials and civil servants by British authorities in the middle of March last year. Officials stated that the prohibition does not extend to personal devices and is a “precautionary move” for security reasons.
Subsequently, the British Parliament barred TikTok from the “wider parliamentary network” as well as any official devices.
TikTok was likewise prohibited from staff devices by London City Hall and the semi-autonomous Scottish government.
BBC also advised its employees to remove TikTok from company devices unless they use it for marketing and journalistic purposes.
United States
The US ordered in March that Bytedance sell TikTok or risk being completely banned from the nation. However, it has never been blocked an app nationally.
The app was asked to be removed from employees’ phones by federal agencies, and TikTok is already blocked on White House devices. It’s still unclear whether the latest bill will ever become law.
The Montana House of Representatives banned TikTok in May 2023; if the law is signed by the state’s governor, the app might then be considered illegal. A judge, however, overruled the state’s ban, ruling that the statute violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
With inputs from The Associated Press and Reuters
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
