The video-sharing app TikTok suffered a major blow when a bipartisan bill that could ban it in the United States unanimously made it out of a House committee on Thursday.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act was introduced Tuesday by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
If passed and signed by President Joe Biden, the bill would give TikTok’s owner – China-based ByteDance – six months to divest from the popular app or TikTok would be removed from American app stores.
The bill received widespread support from Democrats and Republicans when it was announced.
According to Reuters, the bill was advanced 50-0 by the Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday afternoon.
The bill now will be voted on by the full House next week.
According to the bill’s authors, TikTok poses a potential national security risk as long as it is in the hands of Chinese Communist Party-linked ByteDance.
“The bill prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10,” Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi said when they announced the legislation.
Both congressmen also released separate statements about the popular app.
Should TikTok be banned in the U.S.?
“This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users,” Gallagher said.
He concluded, “America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States. TikTok’s time in the United States is over unless it ends its relationship with CCP-controlled ByteDance.”
Krishnamoorthi offered a similar message.
“So long as it is owned by ByteDance and thus required to collaborate with the CCP, TikTok poses critical threats to our national security,” he said in a statement.
“Our bipartisan legislation would protect American social media users by driving the divestment of foreign adversary-controlled apps to ensure that Americans are protected from the digital surveillance and influence operations of regimes that could weaponize their personal data against them.
“Whether it’s Russia or the CCP, this bill ensures the President has the tools he needs to press dangerous apps to divest and defend Americans’ security and privacy against our adversaries.”
A similar bill was proposed in the Senate last year, Axios reported, but it stagnated even with support from Biden.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre signaled that the president supports the House’s bipartisan bill, but she was careful in her language about it, given Biden needs young voters if he wants another term after November.
She clarified, however, that the Biden administration is not touting the legislation as an attempt to “ban” TikTok, which is popular with young adults.
“We don’t see this as banning these apps. That’s not what this is,” Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday, CBS News reported.
She added that the bill would ensure “ownership isn’t in the hands of those who may do us harm or harm. This is about our national security, obviously.”
TikTok has been sending messages to users, urging them to call their representatives all week, according to The Washington Post.
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