A US legislator on Wednesday filed legislation to prevent the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok from accessing their citizens’ user data from within China and to prevent the service from being installed on government equipment.
The measure, proposed by South Dakota U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson, also wants to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch an inquiry to establish if TikTok participated in unfair or deceptive actions or practises.
“Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD) proposed the Block the Tok Act, a measure that would ban TikTok from accessing U.S. individuals’ user data from within China and would bar TikTok from being installed on government devices,” said US Representative Johnson in a statement.
The measure also seeks to restrict the installation and usage of TikTok on military bases and national security organisations (CIA, NSA, FBI, etc.). It also wants to make it illegal to instal and use TikTok on federal government equipment.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that TikTok’s Chinese parent corporation had unrestricted access to sensitive user data such as passwords, keystrokes, browsing history, and voice and facial recognition.
