Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that a ban on TikTok in the United States “should be looked at” as tensions with China escalate.
The Beijing-based company Bytedance owns the popular social media app. Former president Donald Trump explored the idea of banning TikTok and Republicans like Senator Josh Hawley have supported doing so.
“It's something that should be looked at,” Mr Schumer said in an interview with ABC News. “We do know there's Chinese ownership of the company that owns TikTok.”
Mr Schumer said some members of the Senate Commerce Committee were exploring the idea.
“We'll see - we'll see where they come out,” he said.
The majority leader’s words come after the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of the Carolinas. Mr Schumer noted how Senator Jon Tester of Montana was looking into why it took so long to shoot down the device when it was spotted over Montana.
“I think our military, our intelligence are doing a great job, present and future,” he said. “I feel a lot of confidence in what they're doing. But why -- why as far back as the Trump administration did no one know about this?”
Mr Schumer noted that he has long been a critic of China but added that China is the second biggest economic and geopolitical superpower in the world.
“We can't just have a cold war with them. We have to have a relationship with them. But China has taken advantage of us over and over and over again. And this administration has been just about tougher than any other.”
Last year, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed legislation to manufacture more semiconductors in the United States to compete with China and added that the companies that manufacture the balloons are sanctioned.
“So I think this administration is strong and tough on China, but mindful of the fact that we just -- you know, we can't stop talking to them. We have to try to have some kind of relationship,” he said.
