The House of Representatives in the USA passed a bill on Wednesday that could lead to TikTok facing a national ban if the Chinese company ByteDance Limited does not sell its American stake.
About 352 representatives from both sides of Congress affirmed that banning TikTok was a National Security matter, while only 65 representatives rejected the bill.
The short-video app has more than 170 million American users, representing about 17% of the global market share. Beijing-based ByteDance Limited has 165 days to divest its ownership of the platform if the bill is approved in the US Senate and signed into law.
The bill’s sponsors and other representatives claim that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government and say the move will disconnect it from being influenced by the Chinese Communist Party.
“This is not a ban. Think of this as a surgery designed to remove the tumor and thereby save the patient in the process,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Gallagher.
ByteDance, the company that owns the popular platform, has denied these allegations stating that U.S data is stored in Oracle servers and the Chinese government does not have access to it.
Representatives who opposed the bill have mentioned that data security is a concern that needs to be looked upon from an overall perspective, and not just narrowly.
“We need to address data privacy across all social networks, including American companies like Meta and X, through meaningful regulation that protects freedom of expression. Not just single out one platform,” Democrat rep. Mark Pocan, who voted NO, mentioned in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
TikTok has been recorded as the fastest-growing social media app in the US. Researchers in eMarketer have predicted that the app’s global advertising revenue will rise by 37%, challenging established platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. TikTok’s popularity among young people has been attributed to the short-video model which simplifies content creation by capturing interest within the shortest time possible.
TikTok content creators with massive followers earn income through brand sponsorships. Adjusting to other platforms when TikTok gets banned would be difficult for many young Americans. The company reports that more than seven million Americans promote their businesses on TikTok, enabling them to rake in more than $14 billion in revenue. Self-employed individuals would use their app’s audience and proclivity to trend, in attracting customers for their products and services. It is not a surprise that many underground creatives rose to stardom after their works gained momentum in the app.
US legislators and policymakers have been tough on social media giants over various issues ranging from data security to moral reasons. Last month, House committees grilled social media CEOs in what many people considered as ‘a harsh and unwarranted interrogation’. According to the representatives, China said that companies operating within the country were required to help intelligence services, and that included surrendering users’ data. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew maintained that the company was committed to protecting its users’ data and that the ban would be disastrous for the economy. Oxford Economics revealed that more than $24 billion was stacked on America’s GDP thanks to small businesses fostered by social media advertising.
Many governments in Europe have also raised concerns about TikTok’s data security. They have banned their members of staff from using devices with TikTok. India, Nepal, and Afghanistan are among the nations that have banned the app due to either Geopolitical tensions or morality concerns. In September last year, Kenya deliberated banning the app over what was considered as ‘immoral content’. However, the decision was shelved after TikTok agreed to moderate and regulate the platform’s content.
This is not the first time the US has tried to ban TikTok. In 2020, former President Donald Trump gave an executive order to ban TikTok but the decision was quashed by the federal courts. A similar purge was attempted in the state of Montana but the state bill was overturned.
Civil liberty groups have challenged the ban citing that it is a violation of free speech. They also fear that it would set a precedent that would be disastrous for other social media giants like Meta and Google.
“The House of Representatives just passed a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States, violating the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use the platform daily to communicate and stay informed,” said the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
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