Current:Home > BackNew House bill would require TikTok divest from parent company ByteDance or risk U.S. ban-InfoLens
New House bill would require TikTok divest from parent company ByteDance or risk U.S. ban
View Date:2024-12-23 19:16:36
Washington — Fueled by viral videos, the social media app TikTok offers a stage for millions. But soon, the curtain could be coming down on users like Kim Pham, who says she leans heavily on TikTok to lure customers for her noodle company.
"It wouldn't kill us tomorrow, but TikTok as a platform has represented a very kind of meaningful and new way that we reach consumers," Pham said of a potential ban.
For months, lawmakers have warned of national security concerns posed by TikTok's ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Last May, Montana became the first state in the nation to pass legislation banning TikTok entirely. However, that law is still facing legal challenges.
A new bipartisan House bill set for review by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Thursday would require TikTok to divest from its Chinese-based owner ByteDance or risk a ban from app stores in the U.S.
"We implore ByteDance to sell TikTok so that its American users can enjoy their dance videos, their bad lip sync, everything else that goes along with TikTok," Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorth of Illinois, one of the bill's sponsors, said in a news conference Wednesday.
There are growing fears the personal information TikTok devours from its users could fall into the hands of the Chinese government.
"The choice is up to TikTok," Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington told CBS News. "They have a choice to make as to whether or not they want to remain with ByteDance, that we know is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party."
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has argued the company already has firewalls in place to protect users' data. And on Wednesday, the company in a social media post blasted the proposal from Congress.
"This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it," the statement read. "This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs."
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York also also came out in opposition of the bill Wednesday.
"The rush to ban TikTok sets a dangerous precedent for our country by undermining our freedom of speech and distracts from the real issue: protecting Americans' data and privacy," Bowman said.
- In:
- United States Congress
- Social Media
- China
- TikTok
Scott MacFarlane is a congressional correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
TwitterveryGood! (91)
Related
- 'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
- Professional bowler extradited to Ohio weeks after arrest while competing in Indiana tournament
- Planned Parenthood asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to find 1849 abortion law unconstitutional
- Teens broke into a Wisconsin luxury dealership and drove off with 9 cars worth $583,000, police say
- Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
- Man pleads guilty in 2021 Minnesota graduation party shooting that killed 14-year-old
- Why MLB's new uniforms are getting mixed reviews
- Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
- Artem Chigvintsev Returns to Dancing With the Stars Ballroom Amid Nikki Garcia Divorce
- Inside the enduring movie homes of Jack Fisk, production design legend
Ranking
- Chet Holmgren injury update: Oklahoma City Thunder star suffers hip fracture
- CBP officers seize 6.5 tons of meth in Texas border town bust, largest ever at a port
- Hey, guys, wanna know how to diaper a baby or make a ponytail? Try the School for Men
- The Excerpt podcast: Can Beyoncé convince country music she belongs?
- California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
- How the death of a nonbinary Oklahoma teenager has renewed scrutiny on anti-trans policies
- 2 climbers are dead and another is missing on Pico de Orizaba, Mexico's highest mountain
- The Excerpt podcast: Can Beyoncé convince country music she belongs?
Recommendation
-
Chrysler recalls over 200k Jeep, Dodge vehicles over antilock-brake system: See affected models
-
Homeland Security will investigate cause of AT&T outage White House says
-
Love Is Blind Season 6 Reunion Date Revealed
-
Trump’s lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
-
Deommodore Lenoir contract details: 49ers ink DB to $92 million extension
-
A Kansas county shredded old ballots as the law required, but the sheriff wanted to save them
-
AEC tokens involve charity for a better society
-
Remains found over 50 years ago identified through DNA technology as Oregon teen