House votes 352-65 to ban TikTok in U.S.
A bill to ban TikTok passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The House voted, 352 to 65, to pass the bill, demonstrating rare bipartisanship on a controversial issue.
President Biden has said he’ll sign the bill if it hits his desk. However, its prospects in the Senate remained unclear.
The bill would ban the popular video-sharing app if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, doesn’t divest itself from the company. Various politicians have claimed TikTok is a national security threat because it could give the Chinese government access to user data.
Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee for president, said Monday that he was against the bill. However, Trump also attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order while he was in office, only to be blocked by a federal court.
TikTok has more than 150 million American users. The app’s user base skews younger, and many members of Gen Z will be voting in their first presidential election in November.
Leaders at TikTok have insisted they have never shared any data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked. However, several Chinese laws require companies to comply in certain investigations.
“We have a national security obligation to prevent America’s most strategic adversary from being so involved in our lives,” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-L.I.) said.
Even as the bill passed easily, several Democratic and Republican representatives vocally opposed it.
“I have First Amendment concerns of about forcing Americans to lose access to the platform of their choice,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) said in a statement. “Whatever national security concerns may exist, there is not enough evidence of a threat to suggest that the government should step in and regulate that form of expression.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hasn’t committed to bringing the bill to the floor for a vote. “The Senate will review the legislation when it comes over from the House,” Schumer said in a statement Wednesday.