(NewsSpace.com) – TikTok has been the subject of much debate for years. During his time in office, former President Donald Trump tried to force the app’s owner, ByteDance, to divest of its interest, citing national security concerns. While that never happened, and the platform was never outright banned, several states and the federal government, under President Joe Biden, eventually prohibited the use of the app on government-issued devices. Now, lawmakers are back at it, trying to ban the social media app again, and China has its own opinion on the matter.
On Wednesday, March 13, a bipartisan bill regarding TikTok passed the House 352-65. It mandates that ByteDance sell the app or face a permanent nationwide ban. The driving force behind the bill is the concern that the company, with its Chinese connections, could be forced to turn over Americans’ personal data should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) demand it. There are also concerns that the communist country could use the app to spread propaganda. The bill was introduced to the House by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).
ByteDance says the concerns are unfounded, citing that Americans make up the majority of its board and that it had spent more than $1 billion to store the critical data of US users domestically. China has, naturally, condemned the bill, saying the platform is not a danger to the US. Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said that “the United States has never found any evidence of TikTok posing a threat to [its] national security,” but that hasn’t stopped the country from going after the platform. He further said that banning TikTok would “eventually backfire on the US.”
While the legislation has passed the House, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hasn’t committed to bringing the bill to the floor for a vote. President Joe Biden, however, has said that should it come to his desk, he would sign it.
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