(RoyalPatriot.com )- On Sunday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) called for a ban on the Chinese-based social media platform TikTok, arguing that the popular app poses a threat to national security.
Warner, along with Senator John Thune (R-ND), is the co-sponsor of the Senate’s bipartisan RESTRICT (Restricting the Emergency of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology) Act that would give the Commerce Department to regulate and even ban technology produced by China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
In a statement on Tuesday, the White House expressed support for the bill, saying it contains the framework to address “technology-based threats” to America’s safety and security.
While appearing on ABC News’s “This Week” with host Martha Raddatz, Warner noted that US national security is more than just an arms race. It also includes “technology competition.”
Warner explained that the US must be prepared to “win the struggle” in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology which is one reason for the bipartisan RESTRICT Act.
Warner said the RESTRICT Act has the “interest” of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who wants to ensure that the Commerce Secretary has the tools necessary to “require divestiture” or ban Chinese and other foreign technology companies that pose a risk to US national security.
When asked by Martha Raddatz if he believed TikTok should be banned, Warner said, “Absolutely.” He noted that no matter what TikTok may say, data from the app is “residing in China.” He said the platform is used as a “propaganda mechanism” for Beijing and he believes that makes TikTok a “national security concern.”
Warner argued that the federal government needs a “rules-based approach” that goes beyond singling out one app. He said before TikTok, there was the Chinese telecom company Huawei, and there will be other foreign technology that is a risk to national security as well. He added that the federal government has to have the tools to ensure “that we can take them down.”
https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1634912614013894657
