House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale or Ban
Two Options for Social Media Giant
Washington, D.C. - April 20, 2024
The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok two choices: sell its U.S. operations or face a ban. The bill passed with a vote of 360-61, with bipartisan support.
The bill, known as the "Protecting American Data from China Act," was introduced by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). The bill would require ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to either sell its U.S. operations within one year or face a ban on operating in the United States.
The bill is the latest in a series of efforts by the U.S. government to address concerns about TikTok's relationship with the Chinese government. In 2019, the U.S. government opened an investigation into TikTok's data collection practices. In 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order that would have banned TikTok from operating in the United States, but the order was blocked by a federal court.
The House bill is now expected to be taken up by the Senate. It is unclear whether the Senate will pass the bill, but it is likely to face significant opposition from Democrats, who argue that the bill is too broad and would harm TikTok users.
TikTok has said that it is "confident" that it can address the concerns of the U.S. government. The company has said that it stores U.S. user data on servers in the United States and that it does not share user data with the Chinese government.
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