TikTok will be banned on almost all federal government-issued devices after lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill. The No TikTok on Government Devices Act, which the Senate approved last week, was crammed into the massive 4,155-page omnibus bill.
The spending bill was rushed through in order to avoid a partial government shutdown. It will keep the government running until September. On December 22nd, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 68-29. It was approved by the House on Friday by a vote of 225-201.
MORE FROM RAVZGADGET: US House Of Representatives Outlaws TikTok On Its Official Devices
On the same day, President Joe Biden signed a stopgap bill to keep the government open for another week until the omnibus bill arrived on his desk. President Biden signed the bill into law today.
The legislation requires the Biden administration to establish rules by mid-February to remove TikTok from government devices. Exceptions were made in the bill for elected officials, congressional staff, law enforcement agents, and other officials.
The House of Representatives, on the other hand, has banned TikTok on devices it owns and manages.
Earlier this month, FBI Director Chris Wray warned that China could use the app (owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance) to collect user data. Some attempts have been made, including in recent weeks, to outright ban TikTok in the United States.
TikTok has been banned from government devices in several states, including Georgia, South Dakota, Maryland, and Texas. Indiana has filed a lawsuit against TikTok for alleged security and child safety violations.
TikTok has attempted to allay US lawmakers’ fears that the app could be used for spying. Since June, it has directed all traffic from the country to Oracle servers located in the United States.
TikTok and ByteDance both stated that they would delete US user data from their own servers in the United States and Singapore. Oracle began a review of TikTok’s algorithms and content moderation systems in August.
While Congress was debating the bill, it was revealed that ByteDance had fired four employees (two in the United States and two in China) who had accessed the TikTok data of US journalists. The workers were allegedly looking for the sources of leaks to the media.
Other tech-related provisions in the omnibus bill include increased funding for federal antitrust officials. The package also includes the Computers for Veterans and Students Act.
This requires the government to donate certain surplus computers to non-profit organizations. The systems will be repaired and/or refurbished before being distributed to schools, homeschooled students, veterans, seniors, and others who require them.
MORE FROM RAVZGADGET: ByteDance Fired Four Staff Who Accessed US Journalists’ TikTok Data
There is also an additional $1.8 billion in new funding to implement the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to increase domestic semiconductor production. The omnibus bill includes $25.4 billion for NASA, which is 5.6 percent more than the agency received in fiscal year 2022 but less than the $26 billion requested by the White House.
The National Science Foundation will receive $9.9 billion, a 12% increase. The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will each see a 32% increase (up to $1.6 billion) and a 17.5 percent increase ($761 million).
