Schumer says national TikTok ban ‘should be looked at’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that he supported consideration of a national TikTok ban.

“It’s something that should be looked at,” he told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “We do know there’s Chinese ownership of the company that owns TikTok.  And there are some people in the Commerce Committee that are looking into that right now.  We’ll see…where they come out.”

Multiple state governments and Congress have already banned TikTok from government devices, citing national security concerns due to its Chinese-based owner Byte Dance.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill last year to nationally ban the application in the United States amid concerns the application could be used to spy on Americans.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) also introduced a bill last week to ban TikTok, which has more than 85 million users in the United States alone, from any U.S. device. 

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March. According to the committee, he will discuss “TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and their relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.”