A move to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell its stake in short-form video app TikTok in the US takes a big step forward as the US House of Representatives passed a resolution on Saturday that would ban the social media platform unless it is sold to the government. did. Government approved buyer.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill as early as Tuesday, and President Biden is expected to support it.
Lawmakers in the U.S., Europe and Canada have raised concerns about data security and are stepping up efforts to restrict access to the popular app.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 360-58 to give the company up to a year to find a buyer, considering the measure on the same day Congress voted on aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies. The bill would also impose sanctions on Iran.
Momentum has been building for over a year. In February 2023, the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from government devices. The following month, members of Congress slammed TikTok CEO Shou Chu over the app's ownership and potential Chinese influence.
In March 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced a bill that would require TikTok to sever ties with its parent company or face a ban in the United States. The bill received White House approval and passed in March, but the Senate took no action. Bundling this version of the bill into the aid package was intended to force the Senate's hand.
This is why pressure on TikTok is gradually increasing.
It all comes down to China.
Lawmakers and regulators in Western countries are increasingly concerned that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance could be putting sensitive user data, such as location information, into the hands of the Chinese government. They point to laws that allow the Chinese government to secretly request data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering activities.
They also worry that China could use TikTok's content recommendations to fuel misinformation, a concern that has grown in the United States during the Israel-Hamas war and presidential election. Critics claim TikTok has encouraged the spread of anti-Semitism and promoted pro-Palestinian content to U.S. users.
TikTok has long denied these allegations and sought to distance itself from ByteDance, considered one of the world's most highly regarded startups.
What is happening at the local level?
More than 30 states and New York City have joined the federal government in banning the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. Many universities block this from their campus Wi-Fi networks. However, students often simply switch to mobile data to use the app.
In May 2023, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill banning TikTok from operating in the state. This is the first ban in the United States.
TikTok filed a lawsuit claiming the bill violates the First Amendment. In late November, a federal judge agreed and granted a preliminary injunction putting the bill on hold.
Last August, New York City banned the use of TikTok on city-owned devices after cybersecurity officials determined the app “posed a security threat to the city's technology networks,” according to City Hall. a spokesperson said.
In December, a federal judge in Texas upheld a ban barring state employees from using TikTok, ruling that it was a “reasonable restriction” given Texas' concerns about data privacy.
How would a Congressional ban work?
Following the threat of a ban, federal lawmakers focused on a forced sale of TikTok to a buyer acceptable to the U.S. government.
The ban targets app stores like those run by Apple and Google, which could face civil penalties from the federal government if they distribute or update TikTok. Internet hosting companies will also be prohibited from helping distribute or maintain TikTok.
Efforts to force a sale of TikTok have already generated speculation about a potential buyer. That includes a group of investors brought together by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. A large American company. or a coalition of private equity firms.
The sell-or-ban approach has raised concerns among digital rights advocates that it undermines the United States' role in promoting an open and free internet that is not controlled by individual countries.
Previous legislative efforts have focused on bans, including a bill passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2023 that would give the president the power to ban platforms. (Courts had previously blocked the Trump administration's efforts to force the sale.)
In January 2023, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill to ban TikTok for all Americans after pushing legislation to ban it on federally issued devices. The bill was passed in December 2022 as part of a spending package.
The latest proposals relate to efforts to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The bill would require ByteDance to sell to an approved buyer, while extending the deadline for the sale from the original six months.
The Biden administration supports this bill.
President Biden has said he will sign legislation aimed at forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok.
The company said the Biden administration had wanted to sell the app to TikTok's Chinese owners since last year. TikTok has been in confidential discussions for years with the administration's review board, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, to address the government's questions about ByteDance's relationship with the Chinese government and its handling of user data. Ta.
TikTok said it submitted a 90-page proposal in 2022 detailing how it plans to operate in the United States while addressing national security concerns.
The Justice Department is also investigating TikTok's surveillance of American journalists, according to three people familiar with the matter. In December 2022, ByteDance announced that its employees had inappropriately obtained the data of two U.S. TikTok users who were journalists and several of their associates.
Despite the administration's concerns, Biden's re-election campaign made its app debut during the Super Bowl. The short, light-hearted video, which showed Mr. Biden dodging questions from an off-screen interrogator, underscored his attempt to rebuild support among younger voters.
Since then, his campaign has shared dozens of videos on the platform.
The First Amendment will likely be challenged.
Most existing TikTok bans have been put in place by governments and universities, which have the power to ban the app from devices and networks they own and operate.
Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said broad government-imposed bans preventing Americans from using the app could face legal challenges under the First Amendment. He said there is. After all, many Americans are now making videos on TikTok, including elected officials and major news organizations like the New York Times and Washington Post. This is a place for users to share artwork, information, and opinions on political topics such as abortion rights.
First Amendment experts say justifying the ban is a high hurdle for the government.
Will TikTok be deleted from my phone?
The exact mechanism for banning apps from personally owned phones is unclear. Montana's effort to ban TikTok called for fines on the company and its app stores if residents downloaded or used it. Congressional proposals take a similar approach.
Apple and other companies that operate app stores have the ability to block downloads of apps that no longer work. Apps that post inappropriate or illegal content are also banned, said Justin Kapos, a professor at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering.
There is also the ability to delete apps installed on the user's phone. “That doesn't usually happen,” he said.
What was the reaction on TikTok?
TikTok called the ban “political theater” and criticized lawmakers for trying to censor Americans. In March, a pop-up message urged users to call on their lawmakers to oppose banning TikTok. Some offices in the Capitol are said to be flooded with calls.
The company also engages in lobbying efforts to advance plans it has submitted to governments to address national security concerns.