TikTok Ban Bill Passes In The House, Still Needs to Go Through Senate
The Popular Social Media App’s Fate Hangs in the Balance
The future of TikTok in the United States is uncertain as the House recently voted in favor of banning the app. The overwhelming bipartisan support for the ban – with 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats giving it the green light – was primarily due to concerns about the app’s Chinese ownership and its potential as a national security threat.
The legislation, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, requires TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app within six months. Failure to do so would result in TikTok being removed from U.S. app stores and other web-hosting services.
Even though TikTok has repeatedly denied any allegations of data snooping on U.S. citizens, lawmakers have worried about the possibility of the Chinese government accessing the data of TikTok’s 170 million American users. The ban is seen as a precautionary measure to protect national security.
The bill has yet to pass through the Senate and ultimately be signed by President Joe Biden. Lead sponsor of the bill, Representative Mike Gallagher, acknowledged one of the underlying reasons for the rush to ban TikTok – its status as the dominant news platform for Americans under 30 that the U.S. government does not control like other platforms.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has dismissed the allegations against TikTok as a smear campaign orchestrated by the U.S. and has called for hard evidence of the supposed threats posed by the app to national security.
While President Biden has expressed his support for the bill, the final outcome remains uncertain. TikTok has previously survived attempts at banning, leaving influencers and users alike on the edge of their seats. Only time will tell if this bill will take effect. Stay tuned for the latest updates on this viral news story!
