Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he might support a national ban on TikTok if he’s elected president, citing security risks associated with the popular short-form video app.
“I am inclined to not want TikTok in the United States,” DeSantis told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Tuesday. “I think it’s creating a security vulnerability for us. I think they are mining a lot of data.”
The 2024 GOP hopeful, a father of three young children, also said the app’s addictive nature can be “very, very toxic” for kids. But he does not support the Restrict Act, bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate that would give the president new authority to mitigate the threats posed by technology products from adversarial nations like China.
“At the end of the day, I don’t want big brother to be getting into everybody’s apps,” DeSantis said. “It’s about vulnerabilities to our country.”
The Restrict Act was put forward by senators Jon Thune, R-S.D., and Mark Warner, D-Va., in March as the culmination of bipartisan concerns over TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco warned the app’s nearly 150 million Americans users not to use the app in February, arguing that the “perils of Chinese companies being subject to Chinese national security laws” could pose a threat to national security.
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The bill would enable the president — through the secretary of commerce — to investigate and potentially ban technology products from six U.S. adversaries, including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.
The Restrict Act would apply to hardware, software and mobile app products covered by current authorities. It would also expand authority to apply to artificial intelligence (AI) products and services, FinTech, quantum communications and e-commerce not previously covered.
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Several Republican and Democratic governors have banned TikTok on state-owned devices, and the federal government followed suit in February. DeSantis in February signed a bill banning TikTok and other Chinese apps from Florida schools and government servers.
TikTok has said a nationwide ban would censor millions of Americans and be akin to “a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.”
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DeSantis emphasized his tough stance on China with the unveiling of his “declaration of economic independence” Monday, a series of policy proposals he says will take back control of the nation’s economy from China and target 3% GDP growth.
Among his ideas are a ban on imports of Chinese goods made from stolen intellectual property, stronger protections to stop child and forced labor and legislation to end China’s preferential trade status.
Fox News’ Paul Best and Eric Revell contributed to this report.