Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Considers Banning TikTok Due to Chinese Ownership

In an interview with AsumeTech, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed his inclination to ban TikTok, citing concerns over the Chinese ownership of the social media app.

DeSantis stated, “I do think it represents a threat to our country given China’s ownership of it,” when asked if he would consider prohibiting the popular platform.

The governor, who is currently running behind Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, criticized U.S. policy towards China during the interview. He suggested exploring regulatory and tax measures that would incentivize domestic businesses to focus on the domestic economy.

“The reason why many businesses have outsourced to China is because it can be done cheaper and people can make more money,” DeSantis explained. “We find ourselves in a difficult situation.”

TikTok has been a contentious issue in Washington for some time, particularly during the Trump administration, which threatened but never enacted a ban on the app. More recently, Congress introduced new bills aimed at granting the Biden administration the authority to prohibit TikTok.

While DeSantis referred to these bills as “too heavy-handed” for potentially invading people’s privacy, he admitted that he would still likely support a ban on TikTok.

“The United States has been China’s primary source of wealth, but what have they done with that wealth? They have built up their military,” DeSantis argued. “China is currently the biggest threat to our nation.”