Official: TikTok to be banned in the US unless parent company ByteDance can accomplish this

The bill titled “Protecting Americans from Foreign Controlled Apps Act” was voted with 352 in favor and 65 against. The bill will now move to the Senate.

This bill does not directly ban TikTok immediately. Instead, it gives ByteDance, the Chinese-based parent company, approximately 5 months to divest from TikTok. If ByteDance fails to divest from TikTok within that timeframe, the app will be effectively banned in the US.

The bill as it stands would ban app store operators like Apple and Google from distributing TikTok in the US. Legislators have tried to clarify that this is not necessarily a ban, but a “mandatory divestiture.”

After passing in the House, the bill will go to the Senate. If the final bill is passed by the Senate, President Biden has stated that he will sign it into law.

The bill stems from concerns that TikTok and ByteDance could pose a national security threat in the US. ByteDance has repeatedly tried to assuage those concerns and has stated that the Chinese government has never requested any data on TikTok users in the US. Even if requested, ByteDance would not provide that data.

In a statement today, a TikTok spokesperson said:

“The entire process has been done in secrecy and the bill is being rushed through for one reason: it is a ban. We hope the Senate will examine the facts, listen to their constituents, and recognize the impact of the bill on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and 170 million Americans who use our service.”

Former President Donald Trump, who is leading the Republican nomination race this year, has spoken out against the bill due to concerns it would give even more power to Meta.

In a social media post, Trump said: “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck (a derogatory term for Mark Zuckerberg – PV) will double their profits. I don’t want Facebook, the ones who cheated in the last election, to do better. They are the real enemy of the people!”