The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill to ban TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese owners exit the company, and insiders say final passage of the bill is “inevitable.”
The ban is buried within a $95 billion foreign aid program to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and has received relatively little attention.
The TikTok amendment passed by a vote of 360-58.The entire aid bill has not yet been voted on, but it is expected to pass.
About 150 million Americans use TikTok, and there are growing concerns among lawmakers about how the Chinese Communist Party’s owners influence the company.
In recent months, TikTok has made headlines for promoting Osama bin Laden and encouraging young users to strangle each other. After a massacre by Hamas terrorists in Israel, the company faces accusations that it promotes Hamas propaganda and turns young Americans toward Islamic terrorism.
“The forced sale of TikTok is a bipartisan breakthrough against the Chinese Communist Party’s most powerful tool in its information war against the United States,” Rep. Richie Torres (D-Bronx) told the Post. “While the Chinese Communist Party is weaponizing TikTok at its disposal to corrupt the minds of American youth, radicalize Americans against their own country, and amplify anti-Semitism at a scale and pace unprecedented in human history, Congress We can no longer sit back and watch.”
The House passed a similar TikTok bill in March, passing it with a bipartisan majority. But that effort has stalled in the Democratic Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has so far refused to bring the bill to a vote. The Senate majority leader said he would eventually address the issue.
Mr. Schumer has been a vocal supporter of efforts to curb TikTok’s influence.
“A U.S. company should buy TikTok so everyone can continue to use it and our data stays safe,” he wrote. X posts in 2020. “This is about privacy. TikTok in China is subject to Chinese Communist Party law and could be required to hand over data to the government. TikTok must find a safe way to continue.” not.”
The Senate will likely have no choice but to take up the measure, as the TikTok ban is now buried within a foreign aid package widely considered an emergency bill to pass. Senate leaders have vowed to move quickly on the bill and send it to President Biden for his signature.
“Ban was inevitable. What was up for debate was how to get there,” one Senate official said. “TikTok has done a terrible job of fighting to stay afloat.”
TikTok’s new ban gives the company nine months (extendable to one year by the president) to sell or face a nationwide ban. That means its full impact won’t take effect until after the 2024 presidential election.
The House’s previous TikTok bill only allowed for a six-month grace period. Democrats in particular rely on TikTok to mobilize young voters to the polls.
