WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok, a social media platform, to divest from its Chinese owner or get banned from the United States.
The legislation, titled the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” garnered broad support with 352 lawmakers voting in favor and only 65 against, marking a rare moment of bipartisan unity in the politically polarized atmosphere of Washington.
The proposed law poses a substantial threat to TikTok, which has experienced a surge in global popularity while raising concerns about its Chinese ownership and potential ties to the Communist Party in Beijing.
Under the bill, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance would be mandated to sell the app within 180 days or risk being barred from distribution on the Apple and Google app stores in the US. Additionally, the president would be granted authority to designate other applications as national security threats if they are controlled by countries considered adversarial to the US.
While the fate of the bill remains uncertain in the Senate, President Joe Biden has signaled his intention to sign it into law if it reaches his desk, according to statements from the White House.
TikTok Ban Bill Sails Through US House of Representatives
The resurgence of efforts to regulate TikTok caught the company off guard, as executives were reportedly reassured when President Biden joined the app last month as part of his reelection campaign.
However, the legislation has faced criticism from China, which warned that such actions by the US would have repercussions. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the move as “bullying behavior” and cautioned that it would “inevitably come back to bite the United States.”
The bill’s co-sponsors, Representatives Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, along with the White House, maintain that the legislation is not a ban on TikTok, provided the company complies with the divestiture requirement.
Republican lawmakers, including former President Donald Trump, have supported the bill, despite Trump’s previous attempts to wrest control of TikTok from ByteDance during his tenure.
TikTok has consistently denied allegations of ties to the Chinese government and has taken measures to ensure that the data of US users remains within the country, according to the company.
