Does a Tiktok ban loom? What to know Mark Ferenchik, a longtime Dispatch reporter, named WOSU’S news director
The future of social media app Tiktok is cloudy in the U.S. after the House of Representatives approved a bill to force the sale of the company or face a ban.
President Joe Biden has pledged to sign the bill, but it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it is much more divisive.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why are they banning Tiktok?
Congress hasn’t banned Tiktok yet. The legislation calls for its parent company to divest or sell Tiktok or Tiktok will be banned from app stores and webhosting services in the U.S.
The legislation’s proponents argue the app, immensely popular with teens and young people for its customized song and dance features on short clip videos, poses national security risks. Tiktok’s parent company is based in Beijing and may expose American user data to Chinese government surveillance.
Who owns Tiktok?
Tiktok is owned by Bytedance, Headquartered in Beijing.
A team led by Yiming Zhang and Rubo Liang founded Bytedance in 2012. It developed mobile apps Douyin, available only in China, Tiktok, Douyin’s international counterpart, and Toutiao.
When does Tiktok get banned?
If approved by the Senate and signed into law, the bill gives Tiktok 165 days to sell or face a ban. And even if the Senate passes the measure, a long road lies ahead.
Tiktok says it will exercise its legal rights before it considers a sale of its US operations. The platform has successfully challenged similar moves in the courts.
A sale seems unlikely. Companies large enough to buy Tiktok like Meta, Google and Microsoft would probably not attempt to do so because of the Biden administration’s aggressive use of antitrust law to prevent the tech giants from getting even larger. Also, a sale would require Beijing’s approval. Last year, the Chinese government said it opposed a forced sale.
When does the Senate vote on Tiktok ban?
The upper chamber has also been less bullish about the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not said whether he would bring the House’s bill up for a vote, explaining he would have to confer with committee chairs.
While most senators agree that Tiktok’s Chinese parent company poses a security threat to the U.S., many have concerns about the legality of singling out one company.
Who voted against Tiktok?
The bipartisan bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House, 352 to 65, with one member voting “present.”
What happened in previous attempts to ban Tiktok and what do polls say?
Previous efforts to rein in Tiktok have failed. In 2020, Donald Trump tried to ban the app by executive order but courts blocked that effort. Since then, Trump has flipped his position on Tiktok.
Americans are split. A recent poll from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 31% of U.S. adults would favor a nationwide ban on Tiktok use while 35% would oppose a Tiktok ban. But among those who use Tiktok daily, a national ban is unpopular with 73% saying they would oppose it.
What does Tiktok say?
Tiktok says lawmakers are trying to shut it down in the U.S.
Tiktok has pushed back with a vigorous lobbying campaign, including push alerts urging creators to call members of Congress. That part of the campaign mostly backfired. Tiktok also dispatched creators and its CEO Shou Zi Chew to Capitol Hill to ensure lawmakers that the platform has kept users’ information safe from outside manipulation.
Riley Beggin, Ken Tran, Mary Walrath-holdridge and Jessica Guynn of USA Today contributed to this report.
Mark Ferenchik, a longtime, award-winning reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, has been named news director at WOSU Public Media.
In his new position at the helm of WOSU’S radio station, Ferenchik will coordinate local news coverage and communicate with other public radio outlets in Ohio to organize coverage and share stories.
Ferenchik said he was drawn to WOSU because of the radio station’s reputation as “a first-class organization.”
“They cover the community and Ohio State well and I want to be a part of that. There are lots of opportunities here to help provide coverage for the community,” he said. “Also, it’s an administrative position, which I haven’t had before.”
A 1984 graduate of Kent State University, Ferenchik began his career at the Medina County Gazette, followed by 10 years at the Canton Repository before coming to The Dispatch in 1998.
During his time at The Dispatch, Ferenchik worked as a city hall reporter for six years and most recently covered Columbus urban affairs and neighborhoods, focusing on numerous issues in the city and central Ohio, including poverty, vacant and abandoned housing, income inequality, the immigrant community, city development and other topics.
Ferenchik said his goal as WOSU’S news director is to “provide the best, most thorough and accurate coverage of Columbus and OSU in our broadcast area, good enterprise stories you can’t get anywhere else and be on top of breaking news as well.”
bpaschal@dispatch.com