The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring the Chinese company ByteCance Ltd. to either sell TikTok or cease operating in the U.S.
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“We have given TikTok a clear choice,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash, has said. “Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party), and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok’s.”
The bill passed with a vote of 352-65, with most members of each party voting in favor of it. It now moves to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where its future is uncertain.
President Joe Biden has said if Congress passes the measure, he will sign it.
TikTok has long denied that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government, stating that it has never shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities and would not do so if asked. For what it’s worth, TikTok has never been shown to have shared this data with Beijing.
The House vote has put pressure on the Senate to act on the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would consult with relevant committee chairs to determine the bill’s path in the Senate.
The bill has garnered praise for bolstering our data security and for tackling the app’s pro-Beijing propaganda.
On the other hand, it’s also faced criticism for allegedly infringing on free enterprise and for targeting a popular medium just months before an election.
A TikTok spokesperson, Alex Haurek, said in a statement, “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact.”
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Wang Wenbin, one of Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesmen, accused Congress of resorting to political tools instead of encouraging American businesses to compete. In a statement, he predicted that the bill would “eventually backfire on the U.S. itself.”
As lawmakers continue to grapple with these issues, the future of the popular app in the United States remains uncertain.
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