"I think the White House is very in favor of this bill," Warner told a Sunday morning chat show, when asked whether the Biden administration wanted the draft law passed.
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill in early March that would allow the US government to ban TikTok or any other foreign app if it was deemed to be a threat to national security. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan praised the draft legislation, saying it could provide protection against "countries of concern in sensitive technology sectors."
Warner said that TikTok not only jeopardizes the privacy of US users, but also serves as a "propaganda" tool for China.
"One of my bigger fears, we got 150 million Americans on TikTok an average of about 90 minutes a day [is] how that channel could be used for propaganda purposes or disinformation, advocated by the [Chinese] Communist Party," Warner said.
The US House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing Thursday featuring testimony from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, whom US lawmakers questioned about the platform's data privacy practices and alleged ties to the Chinese government. Chew listed off TikTok's efforts to safeguard US user data and denied claims that the platform colluded with the Chinese government. However, US lawmakers expressed skepticism about Chew's statements and reiterated calls for a ban.
Currently, there are over 150 million TikTik users in the United States. TikTok access from government devices is prohibited in more than half of US states due to security concerns about user data being accessed by the Chinese government. The company has repeatedly denied that such concerns carry any weight.