Congress is trying to ban TikTok on government devices as part of a $1.7 trillion spending bill

Lawmakers have until Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

After gaining Senate approval last week, the No TikTok on Government Devices Act could become law thanks to the $1.7 trillion spending bill that federal lawmakers unveiled early Tuesday morning. In addition to allocating more funds to Ukraine and allocating $40 billion for natural disaster recovery efforts in the United States, the sprawling 4,155-page bill includes provisions prohibiting the use of TikTok on phones and other government-owned devices.

As some Republican lawmakers push for a nationwide ban on TikTok, the spending bill stops short of banning all government use of TikTok. If passed, the legislation would direct the General Services Administration and Office of Management and Budget to create guidelines for executive agency staff to remove TikTok from government-owned devices by mid-February. The bill allows congressional staff and elected officials to continue using the app. It also provides certain exceptions for law enforcement officers and officials.

“We are disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices — a political move that will do nothing to advance national security interests — rather than encourage the administration to conclude its review. national security," TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said. Engadget.

"The agreement being reviewed by [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] will significantly address all of the security concerns that have been raised at both the federal and state levels. These plans were developed under the oversight of our nation's most senior national security agencies - plans that we are in the process of implementing - to further secure our platform in the United States, and we will continue to 'inform lawmakers about this.'

The proposed ban comes after at least 11 states, including Georgia and South Dakota, banned TikTok on government-owned devices. Political concerns over TikTok peaked earlier this month after FBI Director Chris Wray said China could use the app to collect user data. TikTok has attempted to address these concerns. In June, the app began routing all domestic traffic through Oracle servers in the United States. At the same time, TikTok and parent company ByteDance have committed to removing US user data from their own data servers in the US and Singapore.

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