The House Passed the Bill That Could Ban TikTok—and It Wasn’t Close
WiredMar 01
US House Passes Bill To Ban TikTok Unless Sold
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Image copyright: Chip Somodevilla / Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
The Republican-majority US House on Wednesday passed by a vote of 352-65 a bill forcing ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, to sell the social media platform within six months or face a ban in the US.
Lawmakers who passed the bill in a bipartisan manner generally believe TikTok is a threat to national security fearing ByteDance is beholden to the PRC and its national security laws compelling companies to assist with intelligence gathering.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
ByteDance must divest TikTok or it must be banned because it's a national security threat to the US. The Chinese Communist Party has cleverly created a platform with addictive algorithms that can easily manipulate the minds of the millions of Americans using it. It's so bad, that it's even banned in China, so there's no reason why the US should be allowing China access to Americans' minds and data.
Pro-China narrative
It's laughable how the US claims it stands for free speech and fair competition but then its politicians pass a bill that's the equivalent of political robbery. US lawmakers have convicted TikTok of being a national security threat despite not having one ounce of evidence. They're willing to deny millions of their citizens access to a platform they love in the name of scoring political points. Free speech and rule of law are dead in the US.
