By a stunningly huge margin, the House passes a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S
NBC News reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill that would ban video app TikTok in the United States unless the app is divested by its owner, Chinese company ByteDance. The vote count of 352-65 (with one member voting "present") shows how much lawmakers are concerned about the relationship between TikTok owner ByteDance and the Communist Chinese government.
The concern is that ByteDance collects a large amount of personal data from TikTok subscribers in the U.S. when an American installs the app and subscribes to the service. Per Statista, the app had 102 million users in the states last year and that total is expected to rise to nearly 108 million this year. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) said, "Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security. Today’s bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies."
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill that could result in the banning of TikTok in the U.S.
50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the bill including a surprising "no" vote from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, who pointed out that she had previously been banned from social media. Greene's vote matched that of Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Rep. Himes voted against the bill noting that countries like China "shut down newspapers, broadcast stations, and social media platforms. We do not. We trust our citizens to be worthy of their democracy. We do not trust our government to decide what information they may or may not see."
TikTok is trying to fight back by stating that the bill violates American's First Amendment right to enjoy free speech.
The next stop for the bill is the Senate where it might have a harder time getting through. If the Senate does advance the bill, the House and Senate versions will need to be reconciled and the final version of the bill will be sent to the president for his signature. President Biden has already said that if the bill is advanced to his desk, he will sign it.
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