The House has given its approval to a bill on Wednesday that requires ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant, to divest TikTok, or else the popular social video app will be effectively banned in the United States.
The bill, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, received overwhelming support with a vote of 352-65, and one member voting present.
It was initially introduced on March 5 by Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Just two days later, the bill received unanimous approval from House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill highlights TikTok as a national security threat due to its control by a foreign adversary.
Now, the bill will move to the Senate, where its future remains uncertain as senators seem divided on the legislation. Additionally, other federal and state-led efforts to ban TikTok have encountered obstacles and delays.
“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson said after the vote was passed. “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
President Joe Biden, who established an official TikTok account in February during his election campaign, has expressed his willingness to sign the bill if it is approved.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that the White House is offering “technical support” in developing the legislation.
During a media briefing on March 6, Jean-Pierre mentioned that once the bill meets legal requirements and progresses through Congress, the President will proceed with signing it.
House members who crafted the bill have stated that it does not ban TikTok; however, the current version of the legislation mandates ByteDance to divest TikTok within approximately six months for the app to continue being available in the United States.
If the bill becomes law, app store owners like Apple and Google, as well as internet-hosting companies, would be forbidden from supporting TikTok and other apps associated with ByteDance.
Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concerns about TikTok’s potential national security risks due to its alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party, which TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has refuted in Senate hearings.
Conversely, tech policy and civil liberties organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight Institute have opposed the bill, citing worries that it could infringe on First Amendment rights.
Speaking on Wednesday, March 13, US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the legislation has “given TikTok a clear choice.”.
Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP [the Chinese Communist Party], and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences,” she said. “The choice is TikTok’s.
Opponents of the bill cited concerns about freedom of speech and called the move a knee-jerk effort.
‘Rather than target one company in a rushed and secretive process, Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy protections and do a better job of informing the public of the threats these companies may pose to national security,’ Representative Barbara Lee, a progressive stalwart, posted on the social media platform X.
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