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Pelosi Backs Adding Legislation To Ban Gov Employees From Using TikTok

 |  December 18, 2022

Nancy Pelosi supports adding legislation passed by the Senate this week, which would bar federal government employees from using Chinese-owned TikTok on government-owned devices, to a government funding bill.

A spokesman for Pelosi said she supports including the TikTok provision in legislation to fund the government that the House of Representatives is set to take up next week.

Related: House Speaker Pelosi Raised Concerns Over Us Media Merger

Pelosi’s support, along with that of Representative Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, significantly boosts the chances the provision will be adopted next week.

The Senate on Wednesday voted on a bill sponsored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley to bar federal employees from using the Chinese-owned video app on government-owned devices. It was the latest action by U.S. lawmakers to crack down on Chinese companies amid national security fears that Beijing could use them to spy on Americans.

TikTok has said the concerns are largely fueled by misinformation. The legislation would not affect the more than 100 million Americans who use TikTok on private or company-owned devices.