Technology — Biden backs bill that could ban TikTok

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View Online Technology Technology The Big Story  Biden backs bill that could ban TikTok  President Biden said Friday he would support a quickly moving bipartisan bill that could ban TikTok. © Greg Nash "If they pass it, I'll sign it," Biden told reporters Friday, referring to the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.   The bill from Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with unanimous support Thursday, just two days after it was introduced. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the a special House committee focused on China.   House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Thursday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, he will be bring the bill to a House floor vote next week.     Although House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) raised concerns about Republicans using a "rushed process" on the bill, he and other Democrats supported it over national security concerns they said are raised by TikTok based on its Chinese-based parent company ByteDance.     TikTok has pushed back on those allegations.     The bill would require ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban on U.S. app stores and web hosting services, banning users from accessing the platform. It gives ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok once passed.   TikTok has pushed back strongly on the bill.     A TikTok spokesperson said the legislation has a "predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States."    Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Epic Games touts new EU regulations after Apple restores developer account Epic Games touted the European Union's (EU) new tech regulations on Friday, after Apple agreed to reinstate the Fortnite maker's developer account as it looks to launch a competing app store for iOS devices in Europe. "Apple has told us and committed to the European Commission that they will reinstate our developer account," Epic said in an update. "This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will …  Full Story 41 state AGs press Meta on 'dramatic increase' in account lockouts, takeovers A group of 41 state attorneys general are demanding that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, provide support for users because there has been a "dramatic increase" in accounts on its platforms being locked and taken over. The letter, addressed to Meta's chief legal officer, Jennifer Newstead, requested immediate action to address the increase in users who are experiencing "takeovers and lockouts" on Facebook …  Full Story Microsoft says Russian hackers trying to use stolen 'secrets' to breach systems Russian hackers have been attempting to breach Microsoft's systems in recent weeks, using stolen information they acquired in an earlier hack, the company said Friday. The hackers, which Microsoft identified as a Russian state-sponsored group known as Midnight Blizzard, have been "using information initially exfiltrated from our corporate email systems to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access" to the company's systems. …  Full Story The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: California school expels students for explicit AI A school district in California expelled five eighth grade students over their involvement in creating and sharing fake nude images created with artificial intelligence (AI) of other classmates, The LA Times reported.  Politics dominates Threads' trends  Topics related to politics are dominating on the trends feature on Meta's Threads platform as it tests the Twitter-like feature, TechCrunch reported.  In Other News  Branch out with other reads on The Hill: The NYPD is using social media to target critics. That brings its own set of worries NEW YORK (AP) — The first "NYPD: Most Wanted" video was meant to be intimidating. Over a pounding soundtrack, the montage cuts among stock images and body-camera footage of actual police raids. A fake gun discharges. Real officers break down a door, barking orders at a man asleep on a couch. As a … Full Story School shootings prompt more states to fund digital maps for first responders When a motion detector went off overnight at Kromrey Middle School, a police dispatcher called up a digital map of the building, pinpointed the detector, clicked on a live feed from the nearest camera and relayed the intruder’s location to responding police. Within moments, they captured the … Full Story What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Conservatives threaten to delay Senate bill to avert government shutdown A bill to avert a partial government shutdown Friday night is running into delays in the Senate amid partisan disputes, but is slowly moving toward … Read more Buttigieg hits back at Speaker Johnson's criticism of Biden's SOTU address Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg fired back Friday at House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) criticism that President Biden's State of the … Read more What Others are Reading  Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: DEI killed the CHIPS Act America's untapped innovators: our secret weapon against China   You're all caught up. See you next week!  Check out The Hill's Technology page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? 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