The house on Wednesdaya bill passedit would lead to a nationwide ban on the popular video appTikTokif the China-based owner doesn't sell, as lawmakers took action saying the company's current ownership structure poses a threat to national security.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 352 to 65, now heads to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
TikTok, which has more than 150 million U.S. users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd.
The lawmakers say ByteDance is dependent on the Chinese government, which can demand access to data from TikTok's U.S. consumers at any time. The concerns stem from a series of Chinese national security laws that force organizations to help gather intelligence.
“We have given TikTok a clear choice,” the representative said. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is dependent on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and remain operational in the US, or stay with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok.”
Approval by the House of Representatives is only the first step. The Senate must also approve the measure to become law, and lawmakers in that chamber indicated the measure would be thoroughly reviewed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he will have to consult with relevant committee chairs to determine the bill's path.
President Joe Biden has said that if Congress approves the measure, he will sign it.
The vote in the House of Representatives is about to open a new front in the long-running feud between lawmakers and the tech industry. Members of Congress have long been critical of technology platforms and their extensive influence, often clashing with executives over industry practices. But by targeting TikTok, lawmakers are highlighting a platform popular with millions of people, many of them younger, just months before the election.
Opposition to the bill was also bipartisan. Some Republicans said the US should warn consumers about data privacy concerns and propaganda, while some Democrats raised concerns aboutinfluence a banwould have on its millions of users in the US, many of whom are entrepreneurs and business owners.
“The answer to authoritarianism is not more authoritarianism,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California. “The answer to CCP-style propaganda is not CCP-style repression. Let's slow down before we charge down this very steep and slippery hill.”
Ahead of the House vote, a top national security official in the Biden administration held a closed-door briefing with lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss TikTok and its national security implications. Lawmakers are weighing these security concerns against the desire not to restrict freedom of expression online.
“What we've tried to do here is be very thoughtful and cognizant of the need to force a divestiture of TikTok without giving the executive branch any authority to regulate the content or go after an American company go,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, the author of the bill, as he stated in the briefing.
TikTok has long denied that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government. The company has said it has never shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities and would not do so if asked. To date, the US government has also provided no evidence that TikTok shared such information with Chinese authorities. The platform has approximately 170 million users in the US.
The security briefing appeared to change few minds, but instead strengthened the positions of both sides.
“We have a national security obligation to prevent America's most strategic adversary from becoming so involved in our lives,” said Rep. Nick LaLota, R.N.Y
But Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said no information has been shared with him that convinces him TikTok is a national security threat. “My opinion leaving the briefing has not changed at all,” he said.
“This idea that we're going to essentially ban entrepreneurs and small business owners, the main way that young people actually communicate with each other, is insane to me,” Garcia said.
"Nothing we heard in today's classified briefing was unique to TikTok. These were things that happen on every social media platform," said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.
Republican leaders moved quickly to bring up the bill after its introduction last week. A House committee unanimously approved the legislation by 50 votes, even after their offices were flooded with calls from TikTok users demanding they stop it. Some offices are even shutting down their phones because of the attack.
Lawmakers in both parties are eager to confront China on a number of issues. The House has formed a special committee to focus on China-related issues. And Schumer directed committee chairs to work with Republicans on a bipartisan China competition bill.
Senators are open to the bill, but indicate they do not want to be too hasty.
“It's not a redeeming quality to me that you move very quickly in technology, because history shows you make a lot of mistakes,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
By advancing the legislation, Republicans in the House of Representatives are also creating rare daylight between themselves and former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term in the White House.
Trump has expressed his opposition to the effort. He said Monday that he still believes TikTok poses a national security risk, but that he is against itbanning the very popular appbecause it would help his rival, Facebook, which he continues to hinder due to his 2020 election loss.
As president, Trump attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order that called "the distribution in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People's Republic of China (China)" a threat to "national security, the foreign policy, and the economy of the United States." However, the courts blocked the case after TikTok filed a lawsuit, arguing that such actions would violate freedom of speech and due process.
