TikTok Appears To Panic As President Biden Takes Aim At Contentious App Following Federal Device Ban

Falling in line with other countries such as Canada and India (and some specific states), the United States has officially enacted a ban on TikTok from being installed on government devices.

At the same time, a bill passed through Congress yesterday that's now heading to the House floor for a vote could also give President Biden the power to extend the ban further (and with more powerful results) in what would be a crushing blow to the Chinese social media company's usage.

This news was accompanied by the White House Secretary speaking to concerned members of the media about the ban, and what they believed was the motive behind it.

Pres. Biden has ordered the removal of TikTok from government devices. New proposed legislation would also allow Biden to ban its use across the U.S.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss tells @edokeefe: "A tougher stance on TikTok is certainly needed," adding, "It needs to be on the table." pic.twitter.com/0uahmTdIfS

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 27, 2023

TikTok just got banned on all government devices in Canada! The US federal gov't device ban wave rolls out in 30 days. I think this platform is going to be toast in a year or two. pic.twitter.com/EZhbMtAywF

— Drift0r (@Drift0r) February 28, 2023

As expected, there were plenty of dissidents to the proposed ban of the social media platform, with many citing the First Amendment as a reason for it to stay active and not be bannable. There was also a notable amount of skepticism from some over the company's ties to China, with others believing that it's not because China owns the parent company Bytedance, but that it's merely due to anyone that isn't the U.S. government being in control of the social media platform (ignoring the fact that other countries have banned it for similar concerns in recent years).

A ban on TikTok would violate the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans who use the app to express themselves daily. pic.twitter.com/rCvCTMOza7

— ACLU (@ACLU) February 27, 2023

Earlier today, TikTok itself responded to this potential ban with its own statement about helping spread "American culture" across the planet to billions of active users, once again citing freedom of speech as a key point.