TikTok Proposes $1.5 Billion Plan To U.S. Lawmakers Amid National Security Concerns

TikTok officials revealed details of negotiations with U.S lawmakers in a $1.5 Billion plan. This would increase transparency and reorganize its operations in the U.S. amid concerns about China-owned social media giant.

The Wall Street Journal reported that communication between TikTok’s video-sharing app, and the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (which oversees how TikTok operates in America), has been kept private. reportedAs at least 25 states have placed restrictions on the app on their government-owned devices, these bans were in response to national security threats and data privacy.

According to TikTok representatives, the proposal will address these concerns. “content recommendation and user-data access with layers of government and independent oversight.”

“We are not waiting for an agreement to be in place,” A spokeswoman confirmed the statement. “We’ve made substantial progress on implementing that solution over the past year and look forward to completing that work to put these concerns to rest.”

Growing security concerns over the social media platform have caught lawmakers’ attention recently after the Federal Communications Commission said it could not regulate the social media app or control American data from flowing back to Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which requires companies to share its data upon request under the country’s 2017 National Intelligence Law.

Solutions reported by the Journal show officials discussed creating a system to monitor the app’s algorithms and hiring watchdogs to surveil officials from Chinese tech giant ByteDance, which owns TikTok, from manipulating the user’s experience.

Although some supporters of the proposal claim that these measures would make it difficult for the CCP in the U.S. to intervene, Journalists heard from skeptics who said they would not trust ByteDance even though they had not seen the proposal.

“It is becoming more and more untenable for a company to comply with American laws and also comply with Chinese laws,” Jacob Helberg is a senior adviser at Stanford University Center on Geopolitics and Technology. He spoke to the outlet.

ByteDance was accused of spying on multiple Forbes reporters under a covert surveillance campaign. This allowed employees to gain access to information like the IP addresses of TikTok users who were connected to the journalists.

Forbes reported that ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department was responsible for the alleged plan to monitor the locations of specific American citizens.

The app was also limited by federal officials as part of $1.7 trillion in December spending under the Constitution. “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” Sen. Josh Hawley (R.MO) introduced TikTok, which he referred too. “a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party.”

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-WI, recently compared TikTok with “digital fentanyl” Despite efforts to ban the app in America,

Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic Congressman from Illinois, had previously introduced legislation to ban the app.

The Journal was concerned by the CCP’s influence over video sharing and privacy. He also expressed concern that the Journal could potentially censor videos critical to the Chinese government.

“For younger users, the concern isn’t that they’re using TikTok just to watch stupid videos,” Gallagher co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would ban TikTok’s operation in the U.S. “It’s that they’re relying on TikTok to get their news.”

U.S. officials could reportedly try to force the ByteDance to sell some of its operations or leave the U.S. if a deal hasn’t been reached with TikTok.