Joe Biden expresses support for legislation prohibiting TikTok in the US | US News

Joe Biden has expressed his intention to endorse a bill that would ban the popular video-sharing app TikTok in the United States.

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed legislation on Thursday, urging China’s ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok or face a potential ban in the US.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, a supporter of the bill, has indicated that it will soon be up for a full vote in the House.

“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Mr Biden stated when questioned by reporters about the bill.

Although the White House provided technical assistance in drafting the bill, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned earlier this week that the TikTok legislation is still undergoing modifications before Mr Biden can fully endorse it.

Former president Donald Trump, the probable Republican presidential nominee, expressed his opposition to a TikTok ban, citing potential benefits for Facebook, a rival social media platform.

Both the FBI and Federal Communications Commission have raised concerns that TikTok owner ByteDance may share user data, including browsing history and location, with China’s government.

TikTok has denied these allegations and affirmed that it has never shared such data and would not do so if requested.

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In 2022, Mr Biden prohibited the use of TikTok by nearly four million federal government employees on agency-owned devices, with exceptions for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes.

Despite raising national security concerns about TikTok, Mr Biden’s re-election campaign recently joined the platform.

The UK also banned TikTok from government phones last year, aligning with the US, Canada, and EU.