U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of banning TikTok, popular social media app, unless its Chinese parent company divests its ownership. This decision marks a significant step toward a potential ban on the app in the United States reflecting growing concerns over national security and data privacy. The outcome of this vote could have far-reaching consequences for TikTok’s millions of American users and the global technology landscape.
The TikTok legislation was included in a US foreign policy package which saw representatives approve sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraine, as well as money for Israel and Taiwan.
The package will now go to the US Senate, where it is likely to be passed on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok legislation once it reaches his desk.
If the bill becomes law, the owner of the popular video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a possible three-month extension while a sale is in progress, or face a ban.
A previous bill passed by the House last month would have given owner ByteDance only six months to sell.
The company will likely try to challenge the law in court, arguing it would deprive the app’s millions of users of their First Amendment rights, which protect freedom of speech.
Such court challenges could significantly delay the timeline set out by Congress or block the law from coming into effect.
In a statement, TikTok said: “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24bn (£19bn) to the US economy, annually.”
TikTok’s chief executive has appealed to US users directly to campaign to stop the bill.
“We will not stop fighting and advocating for you,” Shou Zi Chew said in a video on the platform last month that was directed at the app’s users.
“We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you.”
Concerns data could be shared with Beijing
The FBI has warned TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with China’s authoritarian government.
TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked.
In 2022, Mr Biden banned the use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes.
The approved bill including the TikTok legislation would also allow the US to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to help rebuild Ukraine and impose sanctions on Iran, Russia and China, as well as criminal organisations that traffic the drug fentanyl.
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