The bipartisan 360-58 vote in the US House of Representatives passed a bill that is nearly identical to an earlier version approved in March that would ban TikTok from US app stores unless it quickly finds a new owner to replace its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
TikTok could be banned in the US if it does not divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance. Photo: CNN
By tying the TikTok bill to a broader package that includes military aid to Ukraine and Israel, House Republicans want to pressure Senate lawmakers to consider the entire package on a single up-or-down vote.
Policy analysts expect the US Senate to quickly take up and pass the bill. And President Joe Biden has previously said he would sign a TikTok ban if it reached his desk.
The push to ban TikTok shows how deeply American lawmakers are worried about the Chinese short -video app, which is popular with young Americans but is considered a national security risk by U.S. officials.
The version of the bill approved Saturday, if signed, would give TikTok 270 days to find a new owner, up from about six months under the previous version of the law. And the bill also gives the White House the option to extend that deadline by another 90 days.
TikTok has spoken out against the bill. TikTok has been lobbying against the bill for weeks, arguing that it violates First Amendment rights and threatens small businesses, as well as “trampling on the free speech of 170 million Americans, destroying 7 million businesses, and shutting down a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy annually.”
TikTok has hinted that it might sue to block the bill, telling users in March that it planned to continue fighting.
Paul Gallant, a policy analyst at market research firm Cowen, said the likelihood of a bill forcing TikTok to divest is high. Gallant estimated the Senate would pass it at 80%. “We believe it is unlikely that TikTok will be excluded from the broader package,” he said.
Hoang Hai (according to CNN, Reuters, AP)
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