Source: AFP
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that would force the wildly popular social media app TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be banned from the US market.
American and other Western officials have expressed concern about TikTok’s popularity among young people, arguing that it allows Beijing to spy on users. It has 170 million in the United States alone.
These critics also say that TikTok is beholden to Beijing and is a conduit for spreading propaganda. China and the company deny these claims.
The bill, which could trigger the rare step of barring a company from operating in the US market, now goes to the Senate for a vote next week. It passed the House on Saturday with strong bipartisan support, 360 to 58.
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President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation. He reiterated his concerns about TikTok in a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.
The ultimatum to the social networking app was included in a broader text providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
TikTok quickly protested Saturday after the vote, saying in a statement “it is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of significant foreign and humanitarian aid to once again block a ban bill that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans. they are destroying 7 million businesses and shutting down a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually.”
Under control
Under the bill, ByteDance would have to sell the app within a year or be banned from Apple and Google’s app stores in the United States.
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The House of Representatives last month passed a similar bill to crack down on TikTok, but the measure was held up in the Senate.
Steven Mnuchin, who served as US Treasury secretary under former President Donald Trump, has said he is interested in buying TikTok and has assembled a group of investors.
TikTok has been targeted by US authorities for years, with authorities saying the platform allows Beijing to spy on users in the United States.
But a law banning it could trigger lawsuits. This bill gives the US president the power to designate other apps as national security threats if they are controlled by a country deemed hostile.
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, formerly of Twitter, on Friday spoke out against the TikTok ban, saying it goes against freedom of expression.
“TikTok should not be banned in the US, even though such a ban may benefit Platform X,” Musk said in a post on the social network acquired in 2022.
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“That would be against freedom of speech and expression,” Musk said.
Source: AFP