The United States House of Representatives has approved a measure that requires the parent company of TikTok to sell the platform due to concerns about Chinese Communist Party using user information. Failure to comply with this requirement would result in a ban of TikTok in the country. This legislation puts TikTok in a vulnerable position in the United States, forcing the China-based company ByteDance to divest from the popular short video app within a nine-month period.
The president of the United States could extend this sales period for an additional year if necessary. US lawmakers believe that TikTok poses a threat to national security as it could potentially allow the Chinese government access to user data. The US intelligence community has accused China of using TikTok to influence elections and warned of further interference efforts.
Introduced by Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, the bill aims to protect American national security by severing ties between TikTok and its Chinese parent company. While the move has bipartisan support, there are concerns about potential violations of freedom of expression and infringements on user privacy rights.
TikTok has expressed opposition to the ban, citing concerns about the impact on its 170 million American users. However, with this new measure requiring approval from both houses of Congress and President Biden, it seems that TikTok may have no choice but to comply with the requirement or face a complete ban in
