America is politically polarized. But there is an issue on which both sides agree: We need more privacy and TikTok should not be banned.
A record 72 percent of Americans want “more government regulation” of what companies can do with their data, according to an October report from Pew Research Center. And only 31 percent of Americans favor a nationwide ban on TikTok, according to a February Associated Press-NORC opinion poll.
Despite public sentiment, the U.S. House passed legislation on Wednesday by an overwhelming majority that could force TikTok to divest from control by its Chinese parent company or be banned. It’s fate in the Senate is not clear.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, and American lawmakers say they are pursuing a ban in the name of protecting U.S. data from the Chinese government. But lawmakers are not pursuing comprehensive federal privacy legislation that would protect Americans’ data across all the apps they use.