TikTok Ban: US Passes Bill That Could Lead to Prohibition of Chinese App Unless Bytedance Divest Ownership

By Madz Dizon

Apr 20 2024, 20:14 PM EDT

TikTok Ban Could Suppress Minority Voices, Justice Groups Argue in Court — In this photo illustration the social media application logo for TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of a US flag and Chinese flag background in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2023. OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

The US House of Representatives backed a bill Saturday that would require the phenomenally popular social media app TikTok to split from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be banned from the American market.

Total TikTok Ban Looms in US

US and other Western authorities have expressed concern over TikTok's appeal among young people, claiming that it allows Beijing to snoop on users. There are 170 million people in the United States alone.

These critics also claim that TikTok is controlled by Beijing and used to propagate propaganda. China and the firm dispute these allegations.

The law, which may result in a firm being barred from operating in the United States, will now be sent to the Senate for a vote next week. According to USA Today, it cleared the House on Saturday with overwhelming bipartisan support, 360 to 58.

President Joe Biden has announced that he will sign the law. He expressed his concerns about TikTok during a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.

The ultimatum to the social media app was incorporated into a larger statement that includes help for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

TikTok Responds to US Bill

TikTok strongly condemned the approval Saturday by the US House of Representatives of a bill that threatens to ban the popular social media platform unless it cuts connections with Beijing.

TikTok responded to the vote on Saturday by saying in a statement that "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 that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually."

The law, which was passed bipartisanly, "would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy annually," a TikTok spokesperson stated, as per Barrons.