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Congressman Robert Garcia spoke at a TikTok press conference on March 12 in Washington, DC.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill with overwhelming bipartisan support that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok, a major challenge to one of the world's most popular social media apps.
The bill would ban TikTok from being sold in U.S. app stores unless the social media platform used by about 170 million Americans is spun off from Chinese parent company ByteDance. It is not yet clear what the bill's fate will be in the Senate. The House vote was 352-65, with 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voting no.
Lawmakers supporting the bill say TikTok poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could use the Espionage Act against ByteDance and force it to hand over the data of U.S. app users. claims.
The push to pass this bill faced headwinds from a variety of political directions. Former President Donald Trump, once an advocate of banning the platform, has since blurred his position, while Democrats face pressure from young progressives to keep TikTok in place. Preferred social media platform. TikTok creators and the Chinese government reacted angrily to the vote, with China's Foreign Ministry calling it an “act of bullying.”
TikTok argued that the bill is an attack on its users' constitutional right to freedom of expression. It launched an in-app call-to-action campaign asking users to call their representatives in Washington to oppose the bill. Several council offices are said to be flooded with calls.
The bill would give ByteDance about five months to sell TikTok. If it isn't sold by then, it will be illegal for app store operators like Apple and Google to make it available for download.
In a rare example of bipartisanship, the bill passed unanimously in the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, and President Joe Biden has said he intends to sign the bill once it is introduced.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday did not commit to holding a vote on the House's TikTok bill, highlighting uncertainty about what will happen next.
He said: “We need and will consult with the chairs of the relevant committees to see what their views are.”
When Trump was president, he supported calls to ban the app. Although he now appears to be backing away from that stance, his rhetoric sometimes appears to send mixed messages.
President Trump voiced his opposition to the ban in a post on Truth Social last week, attacking Facebook and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as “enemies of the people” and calling Facebook claimed that they would benefit.
In an interview with CNBC on Monday, President Trump said it was a “difficult decision” to decide whether the U.S. should ban TikTok, and continued to argue that banning TikTok would benefit Facebook, saying, “Facebook is a country that is He added that he thought it was very bad for him. ”
President Trump said he believes TikTok poses a national security threat to the United States, but added, “Facebook and many other companies have similar problems,'' adding, “TikTok likes TikTok.'' There are a lot of people,” he said.
President Trump said, “TikTok has a lot of good things and a lot of bad things.''
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who support the bill argue that it is not a ban.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who chairs the House Select Committee on China, denied calling the bill a ban on TikTok in recent comments to reporters.
“It's not prohibited,” he said. “This puts the choice of whether to sever ties with the Chinese Communist Party directly in TikTok's hands. As long as ByteDance no longer owns the company, TikTok can continue to exist. …Basic ownership The structure has to change.”
TikTok pushed back against lawmakers' claims that the bill would give the app options.
“This bill has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States,” the company wrote in an article. Post to X. “The government is trying to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression. will destroy the lives of its creators.”
TikTok CEO Shou Chu tried to schedule an 11th-hour meeting with members of Congress. The company also sent a letter to several members of Congress on Monday, criticizing the characterization of TikTok's call-to-action campaign and saying that it is “anxious for lawmakers to ignore the opinions of constituents who have overwhelmed their congressional offices with phone calls.” “It's unpleasant,” he said.
This article and heading have been updated with additional information.
CNN's Kate Sullivan, Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox contributed.
