The measure, which was approved unanimously, would have to be passed by the US House before Congress leaves for the year.
“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” Hawley said in a statement. Last month, FBI director Christopher Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee that China’s government could use TikTok to control millions of users’ data or software, and its recommendation algorithm – which determines which videos users will see next – “could be used for influence operations if they so choose”.
After the vote, Brooke Oberwetter, a TikTok spokesperson, said in a statement: “Once again, Senator Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal which does nothing to advance US national security interests.