Last Updated on January 2, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Legislators and campaigners say they want to further restrict social media businesses in the New Year, just days after Congress enacted a bipartisan funding measure prohibiting TikTok on federal devices.

TikTok, a video-sharing software owned by the Chinese business ByteDance, with over 1 billion monthly users. Lawmakers and FBI Director Christopher Wray have expressed worry that TikTok’s ownership structure may expose US user data, because corporations located in China are compelled by law to turn over user information if the government asks it.

TikTok has frequently said that its user data from the United States is not stored in China, but these assurances have done nothing to allay worries.

According to Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, because social media sites such as TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube use comparable algorithms, authorities should push for more information about how they work as a first step.

Many of the more aggressive laws aimed at technology in 2022 were defeated in Congress, including antitrust legislation requiring Apple and Google app stores to offer developers additional payment alternatives and legislation demanding new safeguards to protect children online. This year, Congress made more progress than in previous years toward a compromise agreement on national privacy rules, but there remains only a patchwork of state laws governing how consumer data is secured.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said several of these legislation have bipartisan support and have made it to the Senate floor. However, she claims that the tech lobby is so powerful that even laws with “strong, bipartisan support” can fall apart “within 24 hours.”

Klobuchar stated on Sunday that things will only change with social media firms when Americans have had enough.