Biden says he would sign bill that could ban TikTok in US

Beijing-based ByteDance, within 180 days.

The full House of Representatives will take up the legislation next.

TikTok, used by more than 170 million people in the U.S., has drawn scrutiny in Washington over concerns the Chinese government could use the app to gain access to private user data or spread misinformation.

TikTok strongly opposes the bill, saying it would give ByteDance too narrow a timeline to find a buyer with the resources to buy TikTok and to overcome the technical challenges involved in spinning it off. Angry TikTok users have flooded lawmakers with phone calls urging their opposition.

“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” TikTok said in a statement. “This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”

The White House endorsed the legislation Wednesday, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling it an “important” next step.

“We don’t see this as banning” TikTok, Jean-Pierre said, “but ensuring that their ownership isn’t in the hands of those who may do us harm.”

Last year, the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners sell their stakes or face a possible ban. It also supported Senate legislation that would have given the White House new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based apps that pose national security threats, but the bill was never voted on.

Biden’s reelection campaign, however, recently joined the app to appeal to younger voters.