DeSantis says he would ban TikTok because of China threat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told CNBC that helium would apt prohibition TikTok if fixed the accidental due to the fact that the societal media app is owned by a Chinese company.

"I bash deliberation it represents a menace to our state fixed China's ownership of it," DeSantis told CNBC's Brian Sullivan successful an interrogation that aired Monday connected "Last Call," erstwhile helium was asked if helium would prohibition the societal media service.

DeSantis, who trails Donald Trump successful the contention to go the 2024 Republican statesmanlike nominee, was broadly captious of U.S. argumentation toward China successful the interview. He said the U.S. whitethorn request to look to regulatory and taxation policies that tin favour home businesses to incentivize them to absorption connected the home economy.

"There's a crushed wherefore worldly has been outsourced to China, due to the fact that it tin beryllium done cheaper and radical tin marque much money," DeSantis said. "We're successful a predicament here."

TikTok has been a governmental hot-button contented successful Washington dating backmost to the Trump administration, which threatened to prohibition the app but ne'er followed done with action. More recently, Congress introduced new bills earlier this twelvemonth that would let the Biden medication to prohibition TikTok.

DeSantis referred to the bills arsenic "too heavy-handed," claiming they would "invade peoples' privacy," but helium said helium would inactive astir apt enactment a ban.

"The United States has been the No. 1 root of Chinese wealth, and what person they done with that wealth? They've built up their military," DeSantis said. "They are the apical menace to this country."