On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that poses the most significant existential threat yet to TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, requiring them to sell or potentially face a ban in the US.
The House of Representatives approved a bill on Wednesday that mandates TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or risk a complete ban in the United States. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. However, the overwhelming support in the House—352 members voted in favor, with only 65 against—indicates that TikTok is confronting its most significant existential challenge in the US to date. Here’s what you should know about the bill, the likelihood of TikTok being banned, and what it means for the platform’s 170 million US users.
Is the US genuinely pursuing a ban on TikTok, and if so, what are the reasons behind it?
The bill approved by the House on Wednesday marks the latest development in a continuing political dispute over TikTok, which surged in popularity after its launch in 2017. The platform quickly outpaced Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube in downloads in 2018 and saw a 45% rise in monthly active users between July 2020 and July 2022.
Some lawmakers became alarmed by the platform’s rapid growth, fearing that TikTok’s China-based parent company might gather sensitive user data and censor content contrary to the Chinese government’s wishes.
TikTok has consistently denied sharing or intending to share US user data with the Chinese government. However, lawmakers’ concerns were amplified by reports revealing that ByteDance’s China-based employees had accessed non-public information about US TikTok users.
TikTok contends that US user data is not stored in China but in Singapore and the US, where it is processed through cloud infrastructure managed by Oracle, an American firm. In 2023, TikTok established a data center in Ireland to manage data from EU citizens.
Despite these actions, many US lawmakers remain unsatisfied. In March 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress and endured over five hours of intense questioning about these practices and others. Lawmakers even questioned Chew about his nationality, accusing him of being loyal to China, although he is actually Singaporean.
Over the past year, Congress has proposed various measures to regulate TikTok’s handling of US user data, leading up to the bill passed on Wednesday.
Does this bill truly amount to a ban on TikTok?
According to the new bill, ByteDance would have 165 days to sell TikTok, requiring the buyer to be a company not based in China. Failure to do so would result in app stores like the Apple App Store and Google Play being legally prohibited from hosting TikTok or providing web-hosting services to ByteDance-controlled apps.
The bill’s authors argue that it does not amount to a ban since it offers ByteDance the chance to sell TikTok and prevent being blocked in the US.
Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House select China committee, stated, “TikTok could continue to exist, and users could engage with it freely, provided there is that separation. It is not a ban – think of this as a surgery designed to remove the tumor and thereby save the patient in the process.”
However, TikTok has argued differently, stating that it is uncertain whether China would approve a sale or if a sale could be completed within six months.
After the committee vote, the company stated, “This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is trying to deprive 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression. This will harm millions of businesses, deprive artists of an audience, and ruin the livelihoods of numerous creators across the country.”
How did this situation come about?
TikTok has encountered various bans and attempts to ban it in recent years. It began with an executive order by Donald Trump in 2020, which was ultimately blocked by courts citing First Amendment grounds. Trump has since changed his position and now opposes a TikTok ban. In contrast, Joe Biden has stated that he would sign the bill if it were to reach his desk.
In 2023, Montana tried to implement a statewide ban on the app, but a federal judge invalidated the law due to First Amendment violations. The app was banned on government-issued phones in the US in 2022, and as of 2023, at least 34 states have also banned TikTok from government devices. Additionally, at least 50 universities in the US have banned TikTok from on-campus Wi-Fi and university-owned computers.
In March 2023, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), led by the Treasury, reportedly demanded that ByteDance sell its TikTok shares or face the possibility of a ban on the app, according to Reuters. However, no action has been taken yet.
India banned TikTok in 2020 following a series of dangerous “challenges” that resulted in the deaths of some users. The ban significantly affected competition in India, benefiting YouTube’s Shorts and Instagram Reels, both direct competitors of TikTok. The app is also unavailable in China, where Douyin, a separate app from parent company ByteDance with stricter content moderation, is widely used.
How could a TikTok ban be implemented?
Enforcing a ban on TikTok would be challenging due to the decentralized nature of the internet. The bill passed by the House would impose daily penalties on app stores for offering TikTok for download. However, for users who already have the app on their phones, stopping individual usage would be difficult.
Another approach could involve internet service providers blocking IP addresses associated with TikTok. However, such measures can be circumvented on computer browsers by using a VPN (virtual private network), which redirects connections to different locations.
To effectively restrict access to TikTok, the US government would need to adopt methods similar to those used by countries like Iran and China, which structure their internet to make content restrictions more enforceable.
Who is in favor of the possible TikTok prohibition?
Although Trump, who initiated the TikTok conflict in 2020, has since changed his position on the potential ban, most Republican lawmakers continue to endorse it. The Biden administration has also supported the bill, as indicated by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who stated that the administration wants “to see this bill get done so it can get to the president’s desk.” Biden’s campaign joined TikTok last month.
Despite Trump’s disapproval of the bill, numerous Republicans are advancing the initiative to ban TikTok or compel its sale to an American entity.
“Well, he’s mistaken. And, incidentally, he issued his own executive orders and took his own actions, and now… he’s abruptly changed his stance on that,” stated Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican and member of the far-right Freedom Caucus. “I mean, it’s not the first or last time that I’ll disagree with the former president. The TikTok issue is pretty straightforward.”
Who is against the TikTok legislation?
TikTok has strongly opposed the legislation, urging the Senate not to approve it. “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” said TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek following Wednesday’s vote.
In the House, 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the bill, including Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who mentioned her own experiences of social media bans. House Democrats such as Maxwell Frost of Florida and Delia Ramirez of Illinois joined TikTok creators outside the Capitol after the vote to voice their opposition to the bill.
Several Senate Democrats have openly objected to the bill, highlighting concerns about freedom of speech. They have proposed alternative measures to address worries about foreign influence in social media without singling out TikTok. “We need restrictions on social media, but these restrictions should be applied universally,” stated Senator Elizabeth Warren. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a neutral statement regarding the Senate’s next actions, indicating that they will “review the legislation when it comes over from the House.”
Groups advocating for freedom of speech and civil rights have strongly objected to a ban, arguing that such legislation could significantly impact the broader internet. They contend that while TikTok’s data practices are concerning, they are not fundamentally different from those of US-based tech companies.
“TikTok isn’t perfect, but banning it is not the right solution,” stated Jenna Ruddock, policy counsel at the media advocacy group Free Press. “Like all popular platforms, including those owned by Meta and Google, TikTok gathers excessive data on its users. However, unilaterally dismantling platforms for free expression restricts people’s access to information and eliminates opportunities for creators to build communities.”
What is TikTok’s next course of action?
The bill’s path to becoming law remains challenging. Despite Biden’s stated willingness to sign it, the bill must first pass a Senate vote. The timing of this vote is uncertain, but TikTok is expected to intensify its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill, with CEO Chew scheduled to address senators on Wednesday.
Even if the bill succeeds, it is likely to encounter comparable hurdles related to free speech that stalled previous legislation, such as Trump’s 2020 order and Montana’s 2023 ban.
