- The House of Representatives has voted in favor of a bill that could lead to a US ban on TikTok.
- The bill would force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell to a U.S. company or face a ban.
- The bill is currently before the Senate, where it is expected to be passed.
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States.
The bill would force TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to secure U.S. ownership within about a year or face a domestic ban. Under the previous law, ByteDance had just six months to find a new owner.
In a bid to fast-track bipartisan legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson combined it with a bill that would allow the U.S. to confiscate Russian assets, as well as a package that includes months-delayed aid legislation for Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine. summarized in. In the middle of a parliamentary dispute.
The package of bills will likely be introduced to the Senate and passed within the next few days.The Senate approved a similar bill in February $95.3 billion package That didn’t include TikTok’s bill.
U.S. politicians have long expressed security concerns about TikTok because ByteDance is obligated to share data with the Chinese government. TikTok has an estimated 170 million users in the US alone.
Former President Donald Trump called for a ban on the app toward the end of his presidential term. He has since turned the issue around, arguing that TikTok’s demise could strengthen Facebook’s parent company Meta, calling it an “enemy of the people.”
President Joe Biden has indicated he would sign the bill next week if it passes the Senate. The bill could result in a forced sale rather than an outright ban, but TikTok executives fear the worst and are expected to challenge it in court. It could also face legal challenges from TikTok users and creators.
“This bill has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the U.S.,” a ByteDance spokesperson said last month.
