Tonight U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to ban TikTok on government devices unanimously passed the Senate for the second time. Senator Hawley’s bill would follow up on steps already taken by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and TSA to ban the app on federal government devices due to security concerns.
“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” said Senator Hawley. “States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.”
Senator Hawley originally introduced the legislation last Congress and it unanimously passed the Senate in August 2020. In April 2021, Senators Hawley, Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Rubio (R-Fla.), and Cotton (R-Ark.) reintroduced the legislation and it unanimously passed in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Senator Hawley has held hearings on the security concerns around TikTok since 2019, and questioned company representatives as recently as September 14, 2022.
Full text of the bill is available here.