House approves bill targeting Chinese-owned TikTok
House of Representatives Passes Bill to Crack Down on TikTok
FILE PHOTO: A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
The House of Representatives delivered a resounding blow to the Chinese-owned app TikTok on Wednesday, as it overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at cracking down on the popular social media platform.
Representative Mike Gallagher’s (R., Wis.) Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act represents the most aggressive action Congress has taken against TikTok. The bill, which received 352 votes in favor, 65 against, and 1 abstention, would compel TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest from it. Failure to do so would result in the federal government prohibiting American app stores from carrying the platform.
“This bill would force a separation,” Gallagher emphasized during an interview on Fox News. “The core concern lies in the ownership structure. As long as TikTok remains under the control of ByteDance, a company undeniably tied to the Chinese Communist Party, there is a risk that our primary adversary will control the flow of news in America. This bill is like a surgical procedure designed to remove the tumor and save the patient.”
Supporters of the bill have also raised national security concerns regarding TikTok, which is already banned on federal government devices. However, TikTok argues that the bill would negatively impact small businesses and infringe upon freedom of expression rights.
In response to the vote, the company stated on X, “This process was secretive, and the bill was rushed through for one reason: to ban TikTok. We hope that the Senate will carefully consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and recognize the detrimental impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
TikTok has also claimed that many lawmakers have described the bill as a ban on the app and have openly expressed their goal to ban the platform.
Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously voted to advance the bill, while TikTok urged its users to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to vote against it.
The bill will now proceed to the Senate for a vote, where it is expected to pass.
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