U.S. House Passes Bill to Ban TikTok if China’s ByteDance Refuses Sale

In a groundbreaking move, the U.S. House has officially passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t sell the platform.

This decision comes as lawmakers act on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat.

Some lawmakers have argued that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. any time it wants.

The bill’s author, Rep. Mike Gallagher, has emphasized the need to force a divestiture of TikTok without granting any authority to the executive branch to regulate content or go after American companies.

The House vote is poised to open a new front in the long-running feud between lawmakers and the tech industry.

While some Republicans have warned about data privacy and propaganda concerns, some Democrats have voiced concerns about the impact a ban would have on TikTok’s millions of users in the U.S., many of which are entrepreneurs and business owners.

The bill will now go to the Senate for final approval. President Joe Biden has already said he is ready to sign the papers as soon as the bill reaches his desk.

The bill’s supporters hope that senators will “listen to their constituents” before taking further action that could see the app banned in the U.S.