Wed Mar 29, 2023 – 6:11 pm EDT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Rare bipartisan consensus appears to be forming in favor of banning the China-linked social media platform TikTok, but controversy surrounding a newly unveiled proposal to do just that suggests a less unifying reason why: because the issue could be used to give the federal government powers that go much further.
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which in turn has links to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its military and surveillance operations, prompting ongoing national-security concerns over the Chinese government’s access to the personal data of TikTok’s American users.
The issue was the subject of congressional hearings last week, during which CEO Shou Zi Chew faced harsh questioning from Republicans and Democrats alike. President Joe Biden has endorsed prohibiting the platform in the United States unless ByteDance sells it to a U.S. owner.
The furor has renewed focus on legislation introduced by Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, called the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act. It would empower the federal government to review and
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