By a huge bipartisan margin, bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. passes and moves on to the Senate،
NBC News reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would ban the
video app TikTok in the United States unless the app is divested by its owner, the company Chinese ByteDance. The vote tally of 352 to 65 (with one member voting “present”) shows how concerned lawmakers are about the relationship between TikTok owner ByteDance and China's communist government.
The problem is that ByteDance collects a large amount of personal data from TikTok subscribers in the United States when an American installs the app and subscribes to the service. By
Statist, the app had 102 million users in the states last year and that total is expected to reach nearly 108 million this year. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said: “Communist China is America's greatest geopolitical enemy and is using technology to actively undermine America's economy and security. America. Today's bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress' opposition to Communist China's attempts to spy and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies. »
50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the bill, including a surprising “no” from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who pointed out that she had already been banned from social media. Greene's vote matched that of Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Rep. Himes voted against the bill, pointing out that countries like China are “shutting down newspapers, broadcast stations and social media platforms.” We don't do it. We trust our citizens to be worthy of their democracy. they may or may not see.
TikTok is trying to fight back by saying the bill violates America's First Amendment right to free speech.
The bill's next stop is the Senate, where it may have a harder time passing. If the Senate advances the bill, the House and Senate versions will need to be reconciled and the final version of the bill will be sent to the president for signature. President Biden has already said that if the bill reaches his desk, he will sign it.
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