The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would ban TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese owner sells it.
The ban passed with the vote on the $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and has received relatively little attention.
The TikTok bill passed with 360 votes for and 58 against.
Within the 184-page sanctions bill is a provision that forces TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the popular video platform to a US-based entity within a year or face a ban.
Specifically, it gives ByteDance nine months to divest and gives the chairman the option to opt for a three-month extension.
About 150 million Americans are on TikTok and there are growing fears among lawmakers about the influence its Chinese owners have on the company. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about national security and data privacy with TikTok. Supporters of the social networking app have questioned the constitutionality of restricting Americans’ free speech rights.
In recent months, TikTok has made headlines for promoting Osama bin Laden and urging young users to choke each other.
Wall Street has been fretting about who might buy TikTok in the event of a forced sale of shares by Chinese owner ByteDance. Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Oracle have been identified as potential suitors. Rumble, a free-speech-driven YouTube competitor has also been discussed as a potential buyer.
One obstacle is the large scale of the market. The social networking company was previously valued at up to $50 billion.
In March the House passed a similar bill for TikTok, which passed the chamber with a broad bipartisan majority. That effort, however, has stalled in the Democratic Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has so far refused to bring the measure to a vote. The Senate leader has said he will eventually take up the issue.
Schumer has in the past strongly supported efforts to limit TikTok’s influence.
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With the TikTok ban now buried in the foreign aide package – widely considered urgent legislation that must pass – the Senate will likely have no choice but to take up the measure. Senate leaders have promised to move the measure quickly and deliver it to President Biden for his signature.
Prior to the bill’s passage, TikTok had issued a statement calling it a violation of free speech rights, and the company’s CEO had also called on US users to immediately campaign to stop the bill
TikTok’s statement
It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) April 18, 2024
“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of significant foreign and humanitarian aid to once again block a prohibition bill that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, destroy seven million businesses, and shut down a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy annually.”
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