The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that could lead to the prohibition of TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests from the app. The bipartisan bill, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was approved with a vote of 352-65 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.
The legislation stipulates six months for ByteDance to relinquish its ownership of TikTok or face a ban, effectively removing the app from U.S. app stores and web-hosting services. The bill’s passage is a response to concerns over national security and the potential for the Chinese government to access personal data of U.S. citizens or wield influence through TikTok’s algorithm.
While the bill has garnered significant support in the House, its future in the Senate remains uncertain, with varying opinions on the best approach to regulate foreign-owned applications. Should the bill become law, it could set a precedent for global app governance and raise the bar for data privacy and security standards worldwide.
TikTok, which has a substantial user base of approximately 170 million Americans, argues that the bill would impose a tight timeline for finding a buyer and resolving technical challenges associated with a divestiture. If the Senate approves the bill and President Joe Biden signs it into law, TikTok may pursue legal action to challenge the legislation.
