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Trump cannot ignore TikTok ban, US senator says, pointing to bipartisan support
President-elect Donald Trump cannot ignore a law requiring Chinese-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok in the US by early next year or face a ban, the Democratic chair of a US Senate panel said on Tuesday.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who is holding a hearing on Chinese hacking incidents, cited the law passed by Congress in April as a result of security concerns that China could access data on TikTok on Americans or spy on them with the app.
Blumenthal on Tuesday also raised security concerns about Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s ties to China as well as other tech firms.
Blumenthal noted that Congress was requiring divestiture of the app by January 19, unless President Joe Biden grants a one-time extension of up to 90 days, which he can only do if ByteDance has made significant progress. Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok in 2020, has said if elected in November he would not allow TikTok to be barred.
“He can’t ignore the law,” Blumenthal said. “If he wants to change the law, he can try, but I can tell him and tell the American people – sentiment is pretty strong here in favour of that law.”
Separately, Blumenthal raised concerns about China’s ties to US technology companies including Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX. Musk is closely involved in Trump’s transition. Blumenthal said Tesla produces about half its cars in China and noted the US Defence Department’s heavy reliance on SpaceX.
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