What’s the context?
Where else has TikTok been banned?
Does TikTok pose a national security threat?
TikTok is only of espionage value when used on the devices of people connected to national security functions, according to a report published in January 2023 by Georgia Tech's Internet Governance Project.
But other digital experts have pushed back on the report's conclusion.
"It is naive to think there is enough separation for a commercially motivated native enterprise to not effectively be a tool of the Chinese state," said Bryson Bort, chief executive of U.S. security firm Scythe.
"There is interest in direct relationships with national security, but it looks like from my optic that they are building a database to correlate information around any person," he told Context in emailed comments.
A woman who used to post over a dozen videos on video-sharing app TikTok, makes a video on her miniature cooking with her daughter that she will upload on an Indian app, after India banned dozens of Chinese apps including TikTok following a border clash between the two nations, inside their house in Mumbai, India, July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Hemanshi Kamani
A report from Forbes magazine had found that ByteDance had used the TikTok app to track multiple journalists to discover the source of leaks.
"It was a real through-the-looking glass moment that changed all our interactions with the company - and raised suspicions," said Chris Stokel-Walker, a British journalist and author of TikTok Boom.
However, he questioned the motivations behind the bans.
"The reason it's being banned from official devices in different countries is because of concerns about China handling Western users' data, but nobody has yet proven it," he said.
TikTok has previously said that "we share a common goal with governments that are concerned about user privacy, but these bans are misguided and do nothing to further privacy or security."
Will other countries ban TikTok?
Other countries that have close security relations with the United States have not decided to implement TikTok bans.
Australia, which is part of the "Five Eyes" security alliance that includes Canada, New Zealand and the U.S., said that it has not received advice from its security agencies to ban the app.
Britain, which is also a member of the network, has not banned the app despite lobbying from policymakers.
However, that does not preclude bans in other countries, Walker said.
"It's the closest we can get to unofficial sanctions against a tech company, and countries won't want to feel left out," he said.
"What that means for everyday users is probably not much - it's notable that with all the clamour about cybersecurity from the EU, there has been no word of reassurance or concern for ordinary users."
What does the proposed U.S. ban mean for users?
The American Civil Liberties Union called the proposed legislation unconstitutional, saying lawmakers were "once again attempting to trade our First Amendment rights for cheap political points during an election year."
In May 2023, Montana became the first U.S. state to try and ban TikTok to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by China.
But in November, a judge blocked the ban, saying it violated users' free speech rights.
Evan Greer, director of tech nonprofit Fight for the Future, also said banning TikTok would be censorious.
"U.S. policymakers are trying to 'be tough on China' by acting exactly like the Chinese government," she said in a statement.
"Banning an entire app used by millions of people, especially young people, LGBTQ folks, and people of colour, is classic state-backed Internet censorship."
This article was updated on Thursday March 14, 2024 to reflect the latest move by U.S. lawmakers.
(Reporting by Adam Smith and Rina Chandran, Editing by Zoe Tabary and Clar Ni Chonghaile.)
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