A bipartisan bill could force Chinese tech company ByteDance to sell its popular video-sharing TikTok app within six months or face a ban from the United States.
A group of 19 U.S. lawmakers introduced the legislation on Tuesday, saying, “applications like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries pose an unacceptable risk to US national security,” according to a report by BBC. Ironically, China is using President Joe Biden’s presence on the platform as a defense of its toxic app.
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 20: The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office on December 20, 2022 in Culver City, California. Congress is pushing legislation to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app from most government devices. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The legislation would reportedly give TikTok’s parent company ByteDance 165 days to divest the app, or TikTok would be blocked from app stores and web hosting services in the United States.
The move comes as U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle express concern over the Chinese app’s parent company being beholden to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), therefore, making TikTok a national security threat.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee says it will consider the bill on Thursday.
TikTok, meanwhile, argues that the bill is a disguised “outright ban.”
“This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs,” the Chinese app told BBC.
TikTok has argued against divestment in the past, claiming that a change in ownership will not result in new restrictions with regards to data use.
This latest legislation proposal is U.S. lawmakers’ most recent attempt at placing restrictions on the Chinese app, which has become immensely popular among young people.
Last year, senators introduced a bill that would block TikTok, but the legislation was stalled due to lobbying from the Chinese company.
Former President Donald Trump had also tried to ban TikTok in 2020, but it fell through.
TikTok is banned on government-issued devices, as U.S. government officials consider it a national security threat. Meanwhile, many argue that the same standards should be held for American teenagers, the demographic for which TikTok is most popular.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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