Tag Archives: TikTok

A social media app popular for short-form video content once again finds itself in a precarious position. Lawmakers in Washington D.C. moved forward with a bill on Wednesday that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban.

The House passed legislation that would ban TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform within six months of the bill’s enactment, according to The Associated Press (AP).

How could the bill potentially ban TikTok?

The legislation essentially gives ByteDance two options: sell TikTok or face a ban.

If ByteDance chooses to divest its stakes, TikTok will continue to operate in the U.S. However, the president would need to determine whether the platform is “no longer being controlled by a foreign…

The House of Representatives by a wide margin passed a bill that would make it illegal to distribute or host TikTok in the U.S. — effectively blocking it from some 170 million American users — unless Chinese owner ByteDance divests its interest in the popular app.

It’s the first time a congressional bill has passed that would outlaw an internet app. The fears among many American lawmakers, who see TikTok as a national security threat: that the Chinese regime could demand access to data on TikTok’s U.S. users or somehow compel it to promote China’s agenda. TikTok has repeatedly claimed the Chinese government has never made such demands (and that TikTok would not comply with them if they were made).

More from Variety

The bill, dubbed the “Protecting Americans From Foreign…

The House voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation that will force TikTok to separate itself from its parent company in China or be banned in the United States, a major step toward a crackdown motivated by fears that the popular social media company could be used for spying or manipulation by the Chinese Communist Party.

The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday to pass the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), would make it unlawful for app stores or web hosting services to provide services to social media applications owned and operated by the Chinese company ByteDance. This includes TikTok, which is one of the larger social media platforms in the U.S. If TikTok wants to continue operating within the…

The Chinese Communist Party shared an ominous warning the same day U.S. lawmakers advanced a bill that could ban Chinese-owned TikTok nationwide.

The House passed the bill Wednesday morning in a bipartisan vote 352 – 65. 

The House China Select Committee says Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials through ByteDance are using TikTok to spy on its U.S. users’ locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.

ByteDance would have five months after the law is signed to divest from TikTok. If it does not, app stores and web hosting platforms would not be allowed to distribute it in the U.S. 

Ahead of the vote, a spokesman for the CCP railed against the key claims made by Republican and Democrat lawmakers in their push to get the…