<\/p>\n
Joe Biden said he would sign legislation banning TikTok in the US<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives will vote this week on legislation that gives TikTok’s owner, China’s ByteDance, six months to sell the app. If ByteDance fails to comply, TikTok could face a total ban in the US, affecting its 150 million users. <\/p>\n
When asked by reporters to comment on the vote, President Biden said, “If it passes, I’ll sign it.”<\/p>\n
Why we care <\/strong>A ban on TikTok in the United States 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.<\/p>\n next steps <\/strong>Although the White House offered technical support to draft the bill, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned earlier this week that the TikTok legislation “still needs some job” before getting to a point where President Biden would approve it.<\/p>\n Legislative proposals<\/strong>. The proposed law adopts a dual strategy. Initially, TikTok owner ByteDance will be forced to divest the platform within 180 days of the bill’s enactment; if it doesn’t, it will be banned in the US. In addition, the bill establishes a clear procedure, which gives the executive branch the power to limit access to applications owned by foreign adversaries, especially if they pose a threat to national security.<\/p>\n Security concerns. <\/strong>The vote comes 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.<\/p>\n White House ban.<\/strong> Amid security concerns, President Biden banned nearly four million federal government employees from using TikTok on government devices. However, those same concerns didn’t stop the president from jumping on the platform to boost his re-election campaign last month.<\/p>\n What TikTok says<\/strong>. TikTok accused US senators of making a “default” vote to ban the platform in the US. The platform said in a statement:<\/p>\n “This legislation has 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 damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”<\/p>\n Get the daily search newsletter marketers trust.<\/p>\n deep dive <\/strong>Read TikTok’s statement<\/a> in full for more information.<\/p>\n