Wednesday evening, the Senate passed legislation prohibiting the use of the social media app TikTok on government devices in an effort to reduce perceived information-security risks posed by the app.

By unanimous consent, the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, authored by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, was passed.

This is the most recent action taken by lawmakers against the short-form video app that has gained over a billion users worldwide. Due to China's influence over ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, US officials fear that the app's user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, introduced a companion bill in the House last year. It has not yet been approved by House Oversight Committee members.

A spokesperson for TikTok said, "Once again, Sen. Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal that does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests." We hope that instead of continuing down this path, he will urge the Administration to move forward with a deal that addresses his actual concerns.

TikTok and the US government have been negotiating a deal that could permit the app to continue serving US users. TikTok and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States have engaged in years of negotiations behind closed doors, and there have been recent reports of delays in the negotiations.

On Tuesday, US lawmakers led by Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill to ban TikTok and other apps based in or under the "substantial influence" of foreign adversaries, such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela.

At least seven states, including Alabama, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Texas, have announced in the past two weeks that they will prohibit public employees from using the app on government-issued devices. (Another state, Nebraska, has banned TikTok on state-owned devices beginning in 2020.)