House of Representatives passes bill that could lead to TikTok being banned in US

April 20, 2024 TruthUSA

The House of Representatives in the US has voted in support of a measure that could lead to the banning of TikTok if its Chinese owner does not sell its stake.

The TikTok legislation has been included in a US foreign policy package, alongside foreign aid funding for Ukraine and Israel, as well as security assistance for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific.

The package is expected to be approved by the US Senate on Tuesday, and President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the TikTok legislation into law once it reaches his desk.

If the bill becomes law, the owner of TikTok will have nine months to find a buyer or face a ban, with a possible three-month extension during the sale process.

A previous bill had given ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, only six months to sell.

The CEO of TikTok has urged US users to campaign against the bill.

The FBI has expressed concerns that ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government, including browsing history, location, and biometric identifiers.

TikTok has denied ever sharing such data and stated that it would not comply if asked to do so.

In 2022, President Biden prohibited the use of TikTok by almost four million federal government employees on agency-owned devices, with a few exceptions for specific purposes like law enforcement and national security.

Source link