Senators to launch bill that will help ban or prohibit foreign technology like TikTok

In this photo illustration, a TikTok App Logo is displayed on a mobile phone.

Stanislav Kogiku | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., said Sunday he is introducing a broad bipartisan bill this week that will outline an approach to banning or prohibiting foreign technology, like the popular video-sharing app TikTok.

TikTok is a short-form video platform that is used by more than 100 million Americans. Data privacy concerns have been swirling around the app because of its parent company ByteDance, which is based in China and privately held.

Warner said he is working on the bill with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., adding that he is concerned over the type of content that Americans are seeing on TikTok.

“They are taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe, but what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”

Warner’s legislation comes after U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would grant President Joe Biden the authority to ban TikTok. The bill passed the Republican-controlled committee 24-16 along party lines, with unanimous GOP support and no Democratic votes.

But even with the legislation that came before the committee last week, lawmakers have a long way to go before any real ban could be implemented.

Assuming this bill gets through the Republican-controlled House, the Democratic-majority Senate would have to pass some version of it, which will be a challenge based on the opposition that has already been voiced by some Democrats. If it did pass the Senate, Biden would still need to decide whether to veto it or sign it.

TikTok is no stranger to challenges from U.S. officials, as former President Donald Trump declared his intention to ban the app by executive action in 2020. Congress banned TikTok from government devices as part of a bipartisan spending bill in December, several governors have removed the app from state computer networks —including at public universities — and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., renewed calls for a complete nationwide ban in January.