ACLU requests that US legislators not outlaw TikTok

The American Civil Liberties Union asked Lawmakers on Monday not to outlaw the Chinese-owned video app TikTok, one day before a House of Representatives committee to consider legislation.

Millions of Americans who use TikTok every day to express themselves will have their First Amendment rights violated by its prohibition, the ACLU claimed on Twitter.

A bill giving President Joe Biden new authority to outlaw the app, which is used by more than 100 million Americans, will be up for a vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

The Chinese-owned software TikTok must not be installed on federal networks or devices, according to a directive from the White House issued on Monday.

Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, instructed government agencies in a guidance memorandum seen by Reuters that all devices and systems connected to TikTok must be removed in order to protect U.S. data, and TikTok’s website must not be accessible.

The ban was enacted by Congress in late 2017 and comes after similar measures taken by Taiwan, Canada, the EU, and more than half of the states in the United States. Although the gadget prohibition only affects a small proportion of TikTok’s U.S. users, it further strengthens arguments for outright banning the video-sharing software. With the occurrence of a Chinese balloon above the United States, national security fears regarding China have increased recently.

TikTok, which is controlled by ByteDance, has stated that the worries are unfounded and has refuted claims that it is being used to snoop on Americans. More than 100 million Americans use TikTok on personal or business-owned devices; they are unaffected by the action. Regarding the White House memo, TikTok was slow to respond.

The Biden administration has 60 days to issue agency guidelines after the Biden administration was given permission by Congress to prohibit federal employees from accessing the Chinese-owned video app on government-owned devices in December. The decision was the most recent step taken by American lawmakers to impose sanctions on Chinese firms due to concerns over Beijing’s potential use of these firms as spies on Americans.

The Federal Chief Information Security Officer, Chris DeRusha, stated that “this guidance is part of the Administration’s continuous commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and preserving the security and privacy of the American people.”