The US House of Representatives have passed a bill by a wide margin that could ban TikTok for users in the United States. The bill received bipartisan backing with a 352-65 vote with 15 Republicans and 50 Democrats voting in opposition and one Democrat voted present.
President Joe Biden has already said that he would support the legislation but it’s not yet clear what the fate of the measure will be in the Senate.
It’s the first time a congressional bill has passed that would outlaw an internet app.
The bill’s supporters declined to describe it as a ‘ban’. The legislation prohibits TikTok from US app stores unless TikTok cuts links with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance within 180 days.
While TikTok enjoys worldwide popularity, the fears among many American lawmakers who see TikTok as a national security threat say the Chinese administration could force access to data on TikTok’s U.S. users from BytrDance. That data could allegedly be useful to China for identifying intelligence targets or engaging in disinformation campaigns by the Communist Party in Beijing.
China warns US against TikTok ban
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the US of ‘suppressing TikTok’ despite the fact that it “never found evidence that TikTok threatens national security.”
“This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” Wang added.
“In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself,” he said.