Twelve U.S. senators back giving Commerce Secretary new powers to ban TikTok

FILE PHOTO:. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks during the High-Level Economic Dialogue Second Annual Meeting in Mexico City, Mexico September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha/Pool

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators will introduce legislation Tuesday that would give Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats, Senator Mark Warner said.

"I think it is a national security threat," Warner said on CNBC, adding the bill would give Raimondo "the ability to do a series of mitigation up to and including banning" TikTok.

The group led by Warner and Republican Senator John Thune includes Democrats Tammy Baldwin, Joe Manchin, Michael Bennett, Kirsten Gillibrand and Martin Heinrich along with Republicans Deb Fischer, Jerry Moran, Dan Sullivan, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney, Warner's office said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)