House approves bill on TikTok that would force sale or effectively ban company
0WASHINGTON – The House approved a bill Wednesday that would force TikTok’s parent company to sell the juggernaut social media app or face a practical ban in the U.S.
President Joe Biden has said he would sign it if it makes it to his desk, but the legislation’s fate is uncertain in the Senate, where the bill has proved much more divisive. The bill cleared the House with strong bipartisan support, 352 to 65, with one member voting present.
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 ByteDance, is based in Beijing and may expose American user data to Chinese government surveillance.
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The FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that the company could share sweeping user data, including browsing history, location and other identifiers, with Chinese authorities.
For its part, TikTok says it stores all American user data in a U.S.-based entity, and the storage is solely managed by the company’s U.S.-based security. Their efforts, however, have done little to alleviate lawmaker concerns.
The Biden administration last year called on federal agencies to delete TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices. Congress, the White House and the U.S. armed forces had already banned TikTok from the devices.