On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill by an overwhelming majority that would give ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, around six months to sell up the U.S. assets of the app, which is used by 170 million users, or risk being banned.
With bipartisan backing, the law passed 352-65, but it now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where some senators want to regulate foreign-owned applications differently, raising security risks. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has not yet stated his course of action.
With bipartisan backing, the law passed 352-65, but it now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where some senators want to regulate foreign-owned applications differently, raising security risks. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has not yet stated his course of action.
What will happen to TikTok is becoming a big concern in Washington. Legislators, both Democratic and Republican, reported that their offices were flooded with calls against the legislation from young TikTok users. At times, the volume of complaints surpassed the amount of demands for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The action is the most recent in a slew of steps taken by Washington in response to American national security worries over China, including linked cars, sophisticated artificial intelligence processors, and cranes at American ports.
The action is the most recent in a slew of steps taken by Washington in response to American national security worries over China, including linked cars, sophisticated artificial intelligence processors, and cranes at American ports.
“This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said on social media platform X.
Shortly after passage, a bipartisan pair of senators, Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Marco Rubio, issued a joint statement saying they were encouraged by the bipartisan support for the bill and that they “look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”
The plan was submitted just over a week ago, after Congress had been at a standstill for more than a year and after only one public hearing with minimal discussion. When President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign joined TikTok last month, officials there thought that this year’s legislation would not likely pass.
Last week, the bill was approved 50-0 by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, paving the way for a vote by the entire House.
Last week, the bill was approved 50-0 by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, paving the way for a vote by the entire House.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a previously scheduled trip to talk to senators, a source briefed on the matter said.
“This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States,” the company said before the vote. “The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression,” it added.
Biden said last week that he would sign the bill.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday the goal was ending Chinese ownership, not banning TikTok.
“Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?” he said.
It is unclear whether China would approve any sale or if TikTok’s U.S. assets could be divested in six months.
If ByteDance failed to do so, app stores operated by Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and others could not legally offer TikTok or provide web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.
The courts stopped then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to outlaw TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat in 2020. He had expressed fears about a ban in recent days. It’s still unclear whether Tencent’s 0700.HK
The law may result in the suspension of WeChat and other well-known apps controlled by Chinese nationals.
Legal challenges would almost probably be brought against any compelled TikTok divestment from the United States, and the corporation would have to file them within 165 days of the president signing the measure. After the business filed a lawsuit, a U.S. judge invalidated a Montana state ban on TikTok use in November.
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