Days after the United States ban TikTok, members of the United States congress have disclosed plans to regulate more social media companies this year.
According to the lawmakers, the Chinese-owned short video social media mobile application is structured in a way that it gives vital information about U.S. users to a foreign government.
Also, the policymakers noted that the newly acquired Twitter and YouTube operate similar algorithms to Tiktok, therefore, they need to be regulated to protect U.S citizens.
Meanwhile, a member of the house of Rep. Mike Gallagher in a press interview, proposed that the ban on TikTok should be expanded nationally and not just among representatives. According to him, the app is addictive and destructive.
“It’s highly addictive and destructive, we’re seeing troubling data about the corrosive impact of constant social media use, particularly on young men and women here in America”, he said.
It should be recalled that on December 30, 2022, TikTok was banned from electronic devices managed by the US House of Representatives, citing the high-security risk it poses to users.
Since 2020, the short-form video platform has been negotiating with the US government on a potential deal to resolve the national security threat, urging that the app should remain available to US users.
The social media company has also taken some additional steps to wall off US user data, organizationally and technologically, from other parts of its business.
Unfortunately, an apparent lack of progress in its talks with the US government has led some of its critics, including congress to push for the app to be banned from government devices and potentially more broadly.
Already, local administrations in 19 states in the U.S. have banned TikTok on government issued-devices.