WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton reintroduced legislation to ban all federal employees from using TikTok on government devices. Congressman Ken Buck is leading the legislation in the House of Representatives. Several government agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, have already banned TikTok on federal government devices due to cybersecurity concerns and possible spying by the Communist Chinese government. 

This legislation follows the Biden administration’s action to roll back plans by the Trump administration to force a sale of TikTok’s American operations, despite reports that TikTok is a unique threat to data security.

Senator Rick Scott said, “We cannot allow federal employees to jeopardize U.S. government networks and national security by using apps like TikTok, which are connected to the Chinese Communist Party. Communist China has shown again and again that it will stop at nothing to infiltrate our government networks and steal American technology and intellectual property. I’m proud to join Senator Hawley on this important legislation and hope our colleagues will join us in quickly passing the No TikTok on Government Devices Act.”

Senator Josh Hawley said, “TikTok is a Trojan horse for the Chinese Communist Party that has no place on government devices—or any American devices, for that matter. My bill is a straightforward plan to protect American government data from a hostile foreign power, which, less than a year ago, passed the Senate unanimously. TikTok has repeatedly proven itself to be a malicious actor but Joe Biden and Big Tech refuse to take the threat of Chinese espionage seriously. It’s time for Congress to act.”

Senator Marco Rubio said, “TikTok poses a potential threat to personal privacy and our national security interests. There is absolutely no reason why this application, which Beijing can use to advance its malign foreign policy initiatives, should be utilized on federal devices. In its current form, this platform is not safe. I’m proud to join Senators Hawley and Scott in introducing this bill.”

Congressman Ken Buck said, “The No TikTok on Government Devices Act is in the best interest of our national security. Chinese-owned apps are required to report user data to the Chinese Communist Party, that is why we cannot trust TikTok with the sensitive data that exists on U.S. government devices. It is well past time to acknowledge the serious cybersecurity threat that TikTok poses and enact a federal government-wide ban on the Chinese app.”

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