US House of Representatives passes bill to 'punish' TikTok

AFP reported that the US House of Representatives on March 13 passed a bill targeting TikTok with a vote of 352 votes in favor - 65 votes against. The bill will now be sent to the US Senate for consideration, but it is likely that the bill will not pass this legislative body.

TikTok’s fate has become a major issue in Washington, DC. US Democratic and Republican lawmakers said their offices had received a large number of calls from teenage TikTok users protesting the bill, with the number of complaints sometimes exceeding the number of calls calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Reuters.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the US Congress on January 31

The bill is the latest in a series of moves in Washington DC to address US national security concerns related to China, from self-driving cars to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to cranes at US ports.

Under the bill, ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, must sell the app within 180 days or it will be banned from Apple and Google app stores in the US.

US President ready to sign bill banning TikTok

The bill also gives the US president the power to designate other apps as a national security threat if they are under the control of a country considered an adversary of the US.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will travel to Capitol Hill in Washington DC on March 13 (US local time) to speak with senators, a source said, in a previously scheduled trip.

"This bill has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free speech," TikTok said in a statement ahead of the House vote.

Last week, US President Joe Biden said he would sign the bill into law if it is passed by both houses of the US Congress.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on March 12 that the goal of the bill is to end Chinese ownership, not ban TikTok.

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