UKRAINE - 2024/03/05: In this photo illustration, a TikTok logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Facebook and Instagram of Meta are down worldwide, and users unable to access accounts, reportedly by media. WhatsApp and TikTok also crashed, reported by some media. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A House committee advanced a bill that could nationally ban TikTok from American devices. Lawmakers claim this bipartisan effort addresses natural security concerns.
The legislation would prevent TikTok from appearing in US app stores, CNN reports. However, if the app detaches from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, it can remain active.
170 million TikTok users can be affected.
If enacted, ByteDance will have 165 days (about 5 months) to sell the popular app. Furthermore, if they don’t comply, it will be illegal for any app stores to allow downloads.
Additionally, the potential legislation lists similar prohibitions for other applications “controlled by foreign adversary companies.”
It’s the most aggressive legislation Congress has presented.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before the government body last year, stating the app was not a threat.
Moreover, ByteDance is not taking this attack lying down. The company is pushing back against the bill by attempting to mobilize its user base.
The company has warned its users via a pop-up notification that this bill “strips 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”
“This will damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience,” the notification read.
