21 December 2022, 2:52 AM |The move is the latest US effort to crack down on the popular social media platform, which has been the subject of a slew of recent state bans and a long-running US national security probe over fears the app could be used by the Chinese government to censor content or spy on Americans.
“That is what TikTok is at massive risk for: of having that brand reputational impact the overall revenue monetization that they can make,” said Eunice Shin, a partner at brand strategist Prophet. The bill gives the White House Office of Management and Budget 60 days “to develop standards and guidelines for executive agencies requiring the removal” of TikTok from federal devices.
The proposal last week won the backing of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.In 2020, Republican then-President Donald Trump attempted to block new users from downloading TikTok and to ban other transactions that would have effectively barred the app’s use in the United States but lost a series of court battles in part on free-speech grounds.