On Wednesday, March 13, the House of Representatives voted on a bill that could potentially ban the TikTok app in the United States. In a 352 to 65 vote, the bill was successfully passed and is now on its way to the Senate. If the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by the President of the United States, then TikTok will have six months to sell its U.S. stake to an American company.
Failure to do so will result in a permanent ban. Today, around 170 million Americans use the app. Many of them have come out against the ban, citing concerns about violations of the first amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Lawmakers, however, disagree with the American public and state that this is a necessary step, due to the app’s alleged ties to the Chinese government. U.S. officials say that China has the ability to access the data of American users and control the algorithms. This is due to the fact that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing. TikTok has denounced the bill and urged its users to contact their representatives and senators in order to express their disapproval. Although the Senate has yet to vote on the bill, Americans are worried that there is a good chance this bill might turn into law.
President Biden has come out in support of the bill, and stated that he would sign it into law if it is passed by Congress. As of right now, the fate of TikTok in the United States remains unknown. However, one thing is for certain – TikTok is not going down without a fight. The company has stated that they will challenge the bill, meaning that there is a strong possibility that TikTok will go to court in order to prevent a potential ban. Many are speculating that TikTok is unlikely to sell their U.S. stake, which is why they are holding out hope that the bill doesn’t pass the Senate.
China is also unhappy with the possible ban on TikTok in the US.
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Wang Wenbin, the official representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, commenting on TikTok’s claim to sell to the American side and the possible ban in the US, described the move as blatant robbery.
Syuzi TOROSYAN
