In a significant development for the short-video app, the U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly backed a bill. The bill requires ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to divest its U.S. assets within roughly six months. Failure to comply with the mandate could result in the app being banned, marking a critical juncture for TikTok since the Trump administration.
The law received bipartisan approval with a vote of 352-65. However, its fate in the Senate is uncertain as some senators advocate for different regulations on foreign-owned applications, citing security concerns. The legislation will be reviewed by the Senate, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
In response to American national security concerns regarding China, Washington has taken a series of steps, including the recent action, which is the most recent. These steps involve various sectors such as linked cars, sophisticated AI chips, and cranes stationed at American ports.
“This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said of TikTok on social media platform X. Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, later stated that the Biden administration likewise desired “the Senate take swift action.”
About 170 million Americans use TikTok, making its future a major issue in Washington. Lawmakers complain that their offices are inundated with calls from TikTok users opposing legislation.
After the vote, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew released a video. He is reportedly visiting Washington this week. In the video, he stated that if the legislation becomes law, it “will lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States… and would take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses.”
In order to avoid a ban, he continued, the corporation will use its legal rights. President Joe Biden, who promised to sign the law last week, grants the business 165 days to launch a legal challenge. During this time, the business can prepare and pursue any necessary legal actions.
The political environment in Washington increasingly supports the law. Many politicians there do not want to be perceived as lenient on China, especially in an election year. However, there are worries about how any restriction would affect younger voters.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday asked “Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?”
“Though the U.S. has never found any evidence of TikTok posing a threat to the U.S.’s national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry has condemned the law.
PROMINENT DEMOCRATS QUESTION BILL
Notable Democrats including House Democratic Whip Kathleen Clark, Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with the leading Democrats on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Transportation, and Intelligence committees, voted against the plan.
“There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote,” Ocasio-Cortez stated.
Maria Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, stated that she is studying a separate measure. She wants legislation “that could hold up in court,” but she is unsure of her next course of action. Cantwell will be crucial to the Senate’s decision-making process.
The law was created and underwent one public hearing with minimal discussion. Then, it was delayed for more than a year in Congress before being put to a vote just over a week ago. Last month, when Biden’s reelection campaign joined TikTok, corporate insiders began to believe that this year’s legislation would not likely pass. However, their hopes faded as the bill progressed through Congress.
Before the vote, a number of dozen TikTok users staged a protest outside the Capitol. According to a TikTok representative, the corporation covered the cost of their lodging and transportation to Washington.
In the group was 23-year-old Mona Swain. She claimed to have signed up for TikTok during her first year of college studying musical theater in 2019. She revealed that, as a full-time content creator, the money she made from the app was going toward her brother and sister’s college education. Additionally, it was also supporting her mother’s mortgage payments.
The bill’s most frightening aspect, according to Swain, is that it will likely result in many people losing their jobs.
UNCERTAINTY OVER SALE
It is uncertain if TikTok’s U.S. assets could be sold in six months, or if China would approve of any sale at all.
If ByteDance fails to comply, TikTok and web hosting services for ByteDance-controlled applications will not be lawfully available in app stores operated by Apple, Alphabet’s Google, and other companies. This action would be enforced as a consequence.
The courts stopped then-President Donald Trump’s attempt to outlaw TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat in 2020. He had voiced reservations about a ban in recent days, but almost all House Republicans dismissed them.
It’s unclear if the law will prohibit popular Chinese-owned apps like WeChat, controlled by Tencent, or others.
In addition to TikTok’s anticipated legal action, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups contend that the bill violates the First Amendment’s protections against free speech among other things.
After the business filed a lawsuit, a U.S. judge invalidated a Montana state ban on TikTok use in November.
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