A TikTok Ban returned to the ground after the Home authorized a brand new invoice Saturday geared toward addressing issues which have stalled its passage within the Senate.
The invoice would enable the Biden administration to ban TikTok nationwide until it sells its Chinese language proprietor Bytedance inside a yr. That is totally different from an analogous invoice has been handed within the Home of Representatives final month and offers TikTok a further six months to discover a US purchaser. The earlier invoice stalled within the Senate after Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell raised a number of points, together with the brief timeline for asset gross sales.
It handed simply, by 360 votes to 58.
“This app is a spy ball on People’ telephones,” mentioned Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, as he launched the invoice on the Home ground Saturday. “It is a modern-day Computer virus… used to spy on and exploit America’s private info.”
TikTok’s response obtained bipartisan help. “Nationwide safety consultants are sounding the alarm, warning that our international adversaries are utilizing each software at their disposal, together with apps like TikTok, to gather mountains of delicate information on all People,” mentioned Consultant Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat. . “This invoice takes decisive motion to restrict the flexibility of our adversaries to gather People’ information and use it in opposition to us.”
Digital freedom teams have opposed banning TikTok due to First Modification considerations and since they consider that eliminating TikTok wouldn’t clear up the underlying drawback of widespread information assortment. “The one resolution to this overarching ecosystem is to cease amassing our information within the first place,” the Digital Frontier Basis, a nonprofit digital rights group, wrote in its report. mail final month. “Finally, international attackers will nonetheless be capable of receive our information from social media firms until these firms are prohibited from amassing, storing and promoting it, interval.”
Even X proprietor Elon Musk spoke out in opposition to the ban. “In my view, TikTok shouldn’t be banned within the US, though such a ban may benefit Platform X,” he printed Friday, X. “Such actions can be opposite to freedom of speech and expression. This isn’t what America stands for.”
Nonetheless, asset gross sales or a ban now appear nearly inevitable. This new measure was added to a multibillion-dollar international support package deal despatched to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Following Iran’s retaliatory assault on Israel final week, that support was launched at an accelerated tempo, making it harder for the Senate to keep away from handing it over.
Cantwell supported this newest package deal, saying in an announcement Wednesday: “I’m more than happy that Speaker Johnson and Home leaders have taken on board my suggestion to increase the divestment interval for Byte Dance from six months to a yr. As I mentioned earlier than, extending the gross sales interval is critical to make sure that the brand new purchaser has sufficient time to shut the deal. I help this up to date laws.”
For a number of years, Congress has tried unsuccessfully to pressure the sale of TikTok. Republicans and Democrats worry the app represents menace to US nationwide safety, offering the Chinese language authorities with information from American customers. However Congress has supplied little proof to help these claims, and TikTok and its supporters argue that banning the app would violate free speech rights.