14 DAY TRIAL // TikTok, the Internet sensation that’s United States President Donald Trump wants to ban in the country, is no longer allowed on government-issued devices in America.
The U.S. Senate has approved a bill from Senator Josh Hawley which forbids employees from installing the ByteDance-owned app on devices that belong to the government.
The decision comes after the United States President repeatedly warned that TikTok would be banned in the country because of its possible ties with the Beijing government. TikTok is owned by China-based ByteDance, who is currently in talks with Microsoft over a potential takeover.
Microsoft has announced a September 15 deadline for completing the negotiations and taking over TikTok, with President Trump claiming that if the deal doesn’t go through, the app is no longer allowed in the country.
More sanctions?
Sen. Josh Hawley says that “we won’t be stopping here,” suggesting that more sanctions could be announced, most likely if Microsoft fails to take over TikTok.
“I'm encouraged by the bipartisan support we have seen in this body to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable and that includes ... holding accountable those corporations who would just do China's bidding,” Hawley was quoted as saying by CBC. “And, if I have anything to say about it, we won't be stopping here.”
Most likely, the only way for the ban to be removed from U.S. government devices is for Microsoft to take over TikTok, at which point the national security concerns would no longer exist.
Microsoft says it’s currently talking with ByteDance and U.S. government officials over the terms of deal and guarantees that all TikTok data would be moved and stored in the United States if the takeover is completed. An official announcement on the purchase is projected to be made by mid next month.