Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) unveiled a draft version of the TikTok Transparency and Data Security Act that would create an exemption to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which is commonly referred to as the “divest or ban act.”
The new bill would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States if it:
- Stores data on U.S. users in the country.
- Allows researchers and the public to access certain metrics about publicly posted content.
The original divest-or-ban act gave TikTok a January 19 deadline for divesture, but President Trump has since extended that deadline three times, and the current deadline is September 17th.
Markey’s offices wrote in a statement:
“These conditions are intended to address the biggest concerns with ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok — the potential for ByteDance to manipulate TikTok’s algorithm to support Chinese interests and to use TikTok’s user data in a manner harmful to the United States.”
Last year, Markey argued against a ban on the app, saying the move “could and likely will result in widespread censorship,” but he ultimately voted in favor of the package of bills that included the ban.
Why just TikTok? Why did we start making laws that target just one company? Why not create a bill that applies to ALL social media or foreign owned apps that operate in the U.S. so that everyone is playing on an even field? I feel like our government is being reactive instead of proactive in this area, and I don’t care for it.
