The US House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve a law that would prohibit app stores from selling TikTok, if the Chinese owner did not divest its ownership of video-sharing platform.
Republicans and Democrats voted 352-65 to support the bill. President Joe Biden also supports the bill. Donald Trump is against it.
In recent days, US intelligence and security officials briefed lawmakers in a classified manner on the risks to national security if a Chinese firm, ByteDance is allowed to own TikTok.
The lawmakers ignored the intense lobbying campaign of TikTok. TikTok used its app to encourage users to contact members of Congress and oppose this measure. Total of 197 Republicans backed the bill, even though Trump, who was a critic of TikTok before, switched his position and opposed the measure.
TikTok stated in a press release: “This was a secret process and the bill passed for only one reason: It’s a banning. We hope that the Senate will listen to its constituents and consider the facts. They should also be aware of the impact the ban would have on the economy and 7mn small business owners.
The White House, along with many legislators, has reacted to claims made by TikTok claiming that they were trying to “bann” the app. They have stated that they would be happy to see the platform remain so long as there is no Chinese ownership.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor, said on Tuesday that “ownership” was the key issue.
“Do we wish that TikTok be owned by a Chinese company or an American one? What data do we want from TikTok? Children’s data or adults’ data? . . “Staying here in America or moving to China?” Sullivan asked. “That’s the question at stake here, and the President is clear on his position.”
The House’s vote opens the door for the Senate, which can now either consider the bill or create its own legislation to combat TikTok. The Senate’s previous attempt to tackle the issue was unsuccessful because it was perceived as giving the administration too much authority over many types of apps.
The large number of votes in the House that ByteDance must divest TikTok will likely increase the pressure on the senators to consider this measure seriously.
Mark Warner, Democratic Chair of the Intelligence Committee, and Marco Rubio, Republican Vice-Chair, threw their backing behind the measure. They said they “looked forward to working together to pass this bill through the Senate and sign it into law.”
Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senate majority leader, a China-hawk, was noncommittal following the vote. He said that the Senate “would review the legislation once it came over from the House”.
Rand Paul, a libertarian Kentucky Republican Senator who is concerned about the implications of the bill for free speech, will oppose the bill’s supporters. TikTok has asked its supporters to present the same argument to Congress. They claim that the rights 170mn Americans have downloaded are at risk.
Maria Cantwell is the Democratic Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. Her panel has jurisdiction over the bill, if it proceeds through the regular process. She said that she was “very worried” about adversaries attempting to exploit Americans’ data, or building backdoors into information communication technologies.
“These are threats to national security and it’s good that members of both chambers take them seriously.” Cantwell stated that she would be speaking with her Senate and House counterparts to come up with a constitutional solution to the problem.
ByteDance has 180 days to divest TikTok before it is banned from the app store. The bill was introduced by Mike Gallagher (the Republican chairman of the House Committee on China) and Raja Krishnamoorthi, his Democratic counterpart. Last week, the House energy and commerce panel unanimously approved this bill.
Michael Beckerman, TikTok’s top lobbyist, wrote to Gallagher & Krishnamoorthi Monday. He said that the bill is being rushed by Congress with “unprecedented pace” and poses “serious constitution concerns”. He also refuted the argument that TikTok is indirectly controlled by China through ByteDance.
US officials are concerned that ByteDance will not be able to refuse Beijing’s request to give over the data of American users due to a Chinese law on national security that forces companies to disclose information upon demand.
Christopher Wray, FBI Director, said that he was in agreement with Beijing’s view that ByteDance should hand over data that helped TikTok algorithm be so successful.