TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app, could be facing a ban in the US.

On Tuesday, Republican Senator Marco Rubio announced bipartisan legislation to ban the video-sharing app, amid fears that it could be used to spy on Americans and censor content.

The legislation would block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, Rubio’s office said in a news release, adding that a companion bill in the US House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

‘It is troubling that rather than encouraging the administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States,’ a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

They added that the company would continue to brief members of Congress on the plans that are ‘well underway’ to ‘further secure our platform in the United States’.

‘American social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have dreadful records when it comes to tracking, data privacy and political bias. But TikTok, with its close ties to China’s authoritarian government, takes it to a more nefarious level,’ said Mark Weinstein, social media and privacy expert.

The bill comes as scrutiny of ByteDance-owned TikTok has grown in Washington in recent weeks.

At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok’s US operations raise national security concerns, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.

On Monday, Alabama and Utah joined other US states prohibiting the use of TikTok on state government devices and computer networks due to national security concerns.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump attempted to block the app’s use in the United States but lost a series of court battles over the measure.

The US government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed on to China’s communist government.

CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for months aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of TikTok’s more than 100 million users.

In June 2021, TikTok updated its privacy policy so that it can now collect ‘new types of biometric information including faceprints and voiceprints.

‘Not only is this technology terribly invasive to TikTok users, it’s also dangerous. You can change your password if it becomes hacked or compromised, but you can’t change your face or voice if those are stolen,’

In August, the UK parliament’s TikTok account was been shut down after MPs raised concerns about the social media firm’s links to China.

In 2020, India baned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps as tensions erupted at the border.

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