The House of Representatives passed a bill that would give TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, six months to sell TikTok or it would be banned from app stores in the United States. The vote occurred on March 13 and the bill passed in a 352-65 bipartisan vote.
“Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China?” White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said prior to the passing of the bill. “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?”
The bill comes after the government has raised concerns about ByteDance selling the personal information of Americans who utilize the TikTok app. The platform currently has roughly 170 million users in the United States. Numerous colleges, government agencies and businesses have implemented bans on the popular social media app. Montana became the first state to pass legislation banning TikTok within the state lines. Shortly after, in August of 2023, a ban on TikTok was implemented for New York City government employees because of security reasons.
“This is a critical national security issue,” Republican Steve Scalise said in reference to the TikTok bill. “The Senate must take this up and pass it.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the Senate will review the legislation, but did not provide a timeline. President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the bill into effect if the Senate passes it.
“It is not feasible to do whatever the bill thinks it does, within the parameters set out in the bill,” the chief executive of TikTok said. “This will lead to the banning of the app in the country.”
The future of TikTok in the United States lies in the hands of the Senate, as it could vote on this issue soon – if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brings it to a vote – and determine the fate of American TikTok users.
