The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban in the United States.
This follows continued concern voiced by US officials over the popularity of the social media platform with young people, alleging that it is subservient to Beijing. The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel.
TikTok sharply denounced the passage Saturday by the US House of Representatives of a bill that threatens to ban the popular social-media platform unless it severs its ties to Beijing. The bill “would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy annually,” a TikTok spokesman said.
A standalone bill with a six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app’s owner ByteDance Ltd. The modified measure, passed by a 360-58 vote, now goes to the Senate after negotiations that produced a compromise. Even if the legislation becomes law, though, the company would have up to a year to find a buyer and would likely try to challenge the law in court.
This decision comes as the company has lobbied hard against the legislation, pushing the app’s US users to call Congress and voice opposition. However, the ferocity of the pushback angered lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where there is broad concern about Chinese threats to the US and where few members use the platform themselves. The TikTok ban reflects widespread concerns from lawmakers about China. Dozens of states and the federal government have put in place TikTok bans on government devices.
Members of both parties have worried that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over American user data or direct the company to suppress or boost TikTok content favorable to its interests. TikTok has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government and has said it has not shared US user data with Chinese authorities.
(With agency inputs)
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