TikTok via Twitter.
On Wednesday, the House approved a bill to compel ByteDance, a Chinese company, to sell its majority ownership in TikTok within six months or be banned in the U.S.
The bill It received broad support from both parties, with a final vote of 352 to 65. Republicans have been at the forefront of the push against TikTok, asserting that the social media platform poses a national security threat and functions as a Chinese data collection tool. Former President Donald Trump and some of his MAGA allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) made a late shift to oppose the bill.
TikTok CEO TikTok Shou Zi Chew warned ahead of the vote, “This legislation is designed to result in a complete ban of in the United States. The government is trying to deprive 170 million Americans of their right to free speech.”
The possible ban prompted numerous younger Americans to inundate congressional offices with worried calls, as the app had been encouraging users to contact their representatives. Politico reported last week that “Thousands of TikTok users, young and old, flooded the phones of House lawmakers last Thursday. The effort seems to have had only a minor impact.”
Trump changed his stance on TikTok last week after meeting with a billionaire Jeff Yasswho holds a significant stake in the company. “There are positives and negatives with TikTok, but what I don’t like is that without TikTok, you’re only going to empower Facebook, and I view Facebook as an adversary of the people, along with much of the media,” Trump told CNBC on Monday, after spearheading the push to ban the app during his presidency. told The fate of the House bill is now uncertain in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate, as Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “has not indicated how he plans to proceed,” according to Reuters. This is an evolving story and has been updated.
It passed with broad bipartisan support and a final vote of 352 to 65
