The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban on the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner does not sell, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company's current ownership structure poses a threat to the national security.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 352-65, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
TikTok, which has more than 150 million US users, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd.
Lawmakers argue that ByteDance is under the responsibility of the Chinese government, which could demand access to TikTok's US consumer data whenever it wants. The concern stems from a series of Chinese national security laws that compel agencies to help gather information.
“We gave TikTok a clear choice,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is owned by the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party) and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok's.
The passing of the bill by the Parliament is only the first step. The Senate would also need to approve the measure to become law, and lawmakers in that chamber have indicated it will undergo a thorough review. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would have to consult with committee chairs to determine the bill's course.
President Joe Biden said that if Congress passes the measure, he will sign it.
The House vote is poised to open a new front in the long-running feud between lawmakers and the tech industry. Members of Congress have long been critical of tech platforms and their far-reaching influence, often clashing with executives over the industry's practices. But by targeting TikTok, lawmakers are singling out a platform popular with millions of people, many of them younger, just months before an election.
Opposition to the bill was also bipartisan. Some Republicans have said the U.S. should warn consumers if there are concerns about data privacy and propaganda, while some Democrats have raised concerns about the impact a ban would have on millions of U.S. users, many of whom are businesses. and business owners.
“The answer to authoritarianism is not more authoritarianism,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. “The answer to KKK-style propaganda is not KKK-style repression. Let's slow down before we mess up this very steep and slippery slope.”
Before the House vote, a top national security official in the Biden administration held a closed-door briefing with lawmakers to discuss TikTok and its national security implications. Lawmakers balance these security concerns with a desire not to curtail free speech online.
“What we've tried to do here is be very careful and deliberate about the need to force TikTok without giving any power to the executive branch to regulate content or go after any American company,” said spokesman Mike Gallagher, the editor. of the bill, as it emerged from the briefing.
TikTok has long denied that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government. The company said it has never shared US user data with Chinese authorities and would not do so if asked. To date, the US government has also not provided any evidence that TikTok shared such information with Chinese authorities. The platform has about 170 million users in the US
The security briefing appeared to change minds, instead cementing the views of both sides.
“We have a national security obligation to prevent America's most strategic adversary from becoming so involved in our lives,” said Rep. Nick LaLota, RN.Y.
But Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said no information has been shared that convinces him that TikTok poses a national security threat. “My opinion, coming out of this briefing, has not changed at all,” he said.
“This idea that we're going to basically ban entrepreneurs, small business owners, the main way young people really communicate with each other is crazy to me,” Garcia said.
“Not one thing we heard in today's briefing was unique to TikTok. It was stuff that happens on every social media platform,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.
Republican leaders moved quickly to introduce the bill after it was introduced last week. A House committee approved the legislation unanimously, by 50 votes, even as their desks were flooded with calls from TikTok users demanding they stop the effort. Some offices even shut down their phones due to the attack.
Lawmakers in both parties want to confront China on a number of issues. The House formed a special committee to focus on issues related to China. And Schumer directed committee chairs to begin working with Republicans on a bipartisan China competition bill.
Senators are open to the bill, but have suggested they don't want to rush ahead.
“It's not a redeeming quality to me that you move too fast in technology because history shows you make a lot of mistakes,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
In moving forward with the legislation, House Republicans are also creating rare daylight between themselves and former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term in the White House.
Trump has voiced his opposition to the effort. He said Monday that he still believes TikTok is a national security risk, but opposes banning the wildly popular app because doing so would help rival Facebook, which he continues to criticize for his election loss. of 2020.
As president, Trump sought to ban TikTok through an executive order that called “the proliferation in the United States of mobile applications developed by and owned by companies in the People's Republic of China (China)” a threat to “national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States”. The courts, however, blocked the action after TikTok sued, arguing that such actions would violate free speech and due process rights.
