If approved, the bill would require ByteDance, Ltd. to sell the platform for Americans to continue using TikTok
The US House of Representatives has passed The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that would ban TikTok in America. The bill, introduced last week by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 352-65 today (Wed, Mar 13th), according to Fox News.
“I’m cautiously optimistic [about the bill passing], Krishnamoorthi says. “I think it’s a great bill. It basically does two things. It basically requires that ByteDance — which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party — divest itself of TikTok. We want TikTok to continue to operate, we just don’t want the CCP to have their claws in it.”
The bill prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary-controlled application. Some American lawmakers claim that TikTok is a “significant threat to national security” as they believe the Chinese Communist Party controls the platform owned by ByteDance, Ltd. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has denied those claims in US Senate hearings.
If enacted, ByteDance would have six months to sell TikTok to a non-US adversary, or US citizens would not have access to it. American app stores would be forced to remove it from their platforms if not sold during that time.
The platform has been under scrutiny for years due to concerns the Chinese government could force ByteDance to cooperate with the intelligence gathering of 170 million American users.
The bill will now be sent to the Democratic-controlled Senate before moving to the President.
Last month, Universal Music Group pulled its music from the platform over contract negotiations, claiming, “TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
TikTok responded by calling the world’s largest record label’s action “self-serving” and “not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”
