The US House of Representatives passed a bill requiring ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell the platform or face a total ban in America.
Under the new legislation, ByteDance has a six-month ultimatum to divest its controlling stake in TikTok or face losing its 150 million US users.
Why we care A U.S. ban on TikTok would significantly affect advertisers, especially those targeting Gen Z. This demographic favors TikTok over platforms like Google, making it a crucial channel for advertisers looking to reach this audience.
Security concerns. The vote was made to address national security concerns surrounding TikTok’s ownership. The app is owned by ByteDance, which is based in Beijing and thus falls under China’s controversial cybersecurity laws. Those laws, among other things, contain provisions that could force TikTok to hand over US user data to the Chinese Communist Party upon request.
next steps If the bill passes the Senate, President Joe Biden has pledged to sign it, which could lead to tensions with China. ByteDance would need China’s permission to sell TikTok, but China has said it would oppose any forced sale. China warns that such a move could have negative consequences for the US
Will TikTok be banned? The fate of the legislation in the upper house of Congress remains uncertain, as former President Donald Trump, who previously tried to ban TikTok, now opposes the proposed ban after a meeting with Republican donor Jeff Yass, one of the main protagonists of ByteDance. Trump’s stance has drawn support from some members of the House, while some Democrats also oppose the ban, worried it could alienate the app’s youth user base, at a time when the party he strives to maintain his influence among younger voters.
What the Senate says. Despite conflicting views in Congress, Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Mark Warner, Democrat, and Marco Rubio, Republican, welcomed the House vote. They said in a statement:
“We are united in our concern about the threat to national security posed by TikTok, a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans, whose parent company ByteDance remains legally bound to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party”. “We were encouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives and look forward to working together to pass this bill in the Senate and sign it into law.”
What China says. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the move would “come back to bite the US”. Added:
“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens the national security of the United States, it has not failed to delete TikTok.” “This type of harassing behavior that cannot win in fair competition disrupts the normal business activity of companies, harms the confidence of international investors in the investment environment and harms the normal international economic and trade order.”
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What TikTok says. TikTok accused US senators of making a “default” vote to ban the platform in the US. The platform said in a statement:
“This legislation [was] a predetermined outcome: a total ban on TikTok in the United States. The government is trying to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech.”=” “This will hurt millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators everywhere of the country”.
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