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Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban app stores from distributing TikTok unless its Chinese owner ByteDance gives up control of the popular video-sharing platform.
The bipartisan bill introduced by Republican Chairman of the House China Committee Mike Gallagher, fellow Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi and 17 lawmakers would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok to avoid the app being banned.
The measure could have an impact on the U.S. election. President Joe Biden's reelection campaign has begun using video streaming services to try to connect with young voters, even as the White House previously backed a bill that would give the Commerce Department the power to ban apps like TikTok.
His campaign released its first TikTok video on Super Bowl day last month, which included a Q&A with the president. The first post had over 10 million views, but it has not surpassed that number yet. Most of the posts focused on attacks on former President Donald Trump's mental health and Republican extremism.
The bill would also create a process that would allow the president to take action against social media applications controlled by organizations headquartered in or residing in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
TikTok said: “No matter how the authors try to hide it, this bill is an outright ban on TikTok. This legislation will trample on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of the opportunity to grow and create jobs. platform.”
Both the Biden administration and the former Trump administration view TikTok as a security risk, in part because of Chinese laws requiring domestic companies to share data at Beijing's request. Some lawmakers said China may use the platform to spread false information and try to interfere with U.S. democracy.
In recent congressional testimony, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the streaming service is a tool ultimately controlled by the Chinese government and “raised out of national security concerns.”
A congressional aide said the bill was a “landmark moment” and that support for the measure on Capitol Hill was “strongly bipartisan.”
Previous efforts in Congress to ban TikTok have been unsuccessful, especially after some lawmakers expressed concerns that any ban would infringe on free speech. Congressional aides say the bill aims to overcome those obstacles.
Another congressional aide said many lawmakers had changed their minds about TikTok after officials held confidential briefings on security risks and were more willing to risk angering younger voters. Another congressional aide noted that the legislation would not prohibit app stores from distributing TikTok in non-U.S. markets.
Some US states have also tried to ban the app. Last year, Montana's governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill banning app stores from allowing TikTok downloads in the state. TikTok successfully sued to block the ban on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, and Montana is appealing the ruling.
In January, Republican lawmakers questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about whether the group had ties to China, which he denied. TikTok has tried to distance itself from ByteDance by investing more than $1.5 billion in “Project Texas,” a restructuring plan the company insists is designed to protect user data and content from Chinese influence.
TikTok has been banned from government devices in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.
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