by The House of Representatives passed a bill that would make it illegal to distribute or host TikTok in the United States — effectively blocking about 170 million American users — unless the Chinese owner dissolves ByteDance’s interest in the popular app.
This is the first time a congressional bill has been passed that would ban an internet app. The concern among many American lawmakers, who see TikTok as a national security threat: that the Chinese regime could demand access to data on US TikTok users or somehow force it to promote China’s agenda. TikTok has repeatedly claimed that the Chinese government has not made such demands (and that TikTok would not comply with them if they were made).
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The bill, called the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Control Requests Act,” passed the House by a vote of 352-65 on Wednesday morning with bipartisan support, amid pushback from some representatives on both sides of the aisle That happened after the bill was fast-tracked on a “suspension of the rules” schedule that required a two-thirds majority to pass. Although it had a base of support in the House, the fate of the measure in the Senate is unclear as there is no corresponding legislation on the table at the moment.
President Biden has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk — even as his re-election campaign just launched a TikTok account, @bidenhq, last month on Super Bowl Sunday. Biden in 2022 approved a measure to ban TikTok on most US government devices.
If signed into law, the legislation is expected to face legal challenges, including a possibility from TikTok. Previous attempts in the United States to ban TikTok have failed on First Amendment grounds and because the courts have determined that legal challenges only present hypothetical national security risks instead of actual evidence that TikTok has shared with Chinese authorities.
The threat of an American ban on TikTok would increase tensions between the United States and China. Chinese officials said the government would “firmly oppose” any forced sale of TikTok because it would “gravely undermine the confidence of investors from various countries, including China, to invest in the United States.” According to China’s commerce ministry, ByteDance’s sale of its TikTok ownership would amount to a technology export and would be subject to government approval. “You’re not going to be able to force ByteDance to divest,” James Lewis, SVP at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the New York Times.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) on March 5, and a House committee unanimously approved it in a 50-0 vote. Under the bill, Apple’s and Google’s app stores and web hosting services in the US would be prohibited from hosting any “foreign antitrust-controlled application,” specifically calling out ByteDance’s TikTok, according to the bill’s text (HR 7521 ). The ban would go into effect unless such a “foreign outsider” (ie ByteDance) divests its ownership in the app (ie TikTok) within 165 days of it becoming law. Additionally, the bill gives the president of the United States latitude to determine which apps controlled by hostile foreign governments should be subject to the divestment requirement.
“My message to TikTok is this: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” said Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. , i introducing the bill.
Violators of the TikTok ban would have faced stiff fines, amounting to $5,000 multiplied by each US user “determined to have controlled access, maintenance or updating of an escort application.”
A TikTok representative said in a statement after the vote, “This process was secret and the bill was introduced for one reason: It is a ban based on zero evidence. We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
Before the House vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called the legislative action “bullying behavior” that “damages the normal international economic and trade order,” according to a BBC report. “In the end, this will definitely come back to bite the United States itself.”
On Tuesday, TikTok sent another in-app alert to users in the United States urging them to call their congressional representatives to voice their opposition to the bill, after issuing a similar notice ahead of the House committee vote. last week. “Your voice can help the TikTok communities you love,” said the message, similar to another he sent last week. It allows users to search their ZIP code to find a phone number for their local representative. Some House members cited the mobilization of TikTok users as a lobbying campaign as a demonstration of its power — and a clear reason the bill should become law.
TikTok has repeatedly insisted that it is in no way controlled or owned by the Chinese Communist Party or any other government entity. About 60% of ByteDance is owned by “global institutional investors” including BlackRock, General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group and Sequoia, with 20% owned by the company’s Chinese founders and 20% owned by other employees, according to TikTok.
At a House committee hearing last year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew claimed that forcing ByteDance to divest its ownership stake in the app would not change how TikTok operates. “A change of ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flow or access,” he said. “Every global company faces common challenges that need to be addressed through safeguards and transparency.”
In the Senate, Mr. Chuck Schumer (DNY.), the majority leader, is not committed to bringing the TikTok ban bill to a vote. In addition, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told the Washington Post that he will block any measure he believes is unconstitutional. “I don’t think Congress should be trying to take away his First Amendment rights [170] million Americans,” Paul said.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who as president, tried unsuccessfully to force ByteDance to sell majority control in TikTok to its US owners, given the current effort to block TikTok or its Chinese owners. sell their share in the app. Last week, he posted on Truth Social, “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” calling Facebook “The Real Enemy of the People!” In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Trump agreed that TikTok’s Chinese connections represent a “national security risk” but reiterated his point that a US government ban on the app would only help Facebook.
“Actually, there are a lot of people on TikTok who love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” Trump said on CNBC. “There are a lot of users. There is a lot of good and there is a lot of bad with TikTok. But what I don’t like is that, without TikTok, you can make Facebook more and I consider Facebook to be the enemy of the people and a lot of the media.”
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