Is TikTok Getting Banned In The US? What To Know About The Bill Threatening The App

TikTok is not banned, but The House just passed a bill that could spell the demise of the popular social media app. The legislation is a measure against TikTok and its owner, Bejing-based ByteDance. The House argued that US citizens' data is at risk because ByteDance must comply with the CCP, according to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) in a press release. This comes just a year after Montana became the first state to ban the app for identical concerns.

The newly passed legislation passed in the House on a bipartisan basis with a vote of 352-65 and would make it unlawful for a foreign adversary to "distribute, maintain, or update (or enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of)" select applications in the U.S. If an application meets the criteria laid out in the bill, it must be removed from mobile marketplaces like the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. 

The fate of the newly passed bill is up to the Senate now. But even if the legislation goes through, TikTok has a way out. The bill would give ByteDance a grace period of 180 days, during which it would need to sell the app to remain on U.S. app stores. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), one of the leaders of the Select Committee on the CCP, stated, "This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users." 

Although the bill directly targets TikTok over fears of national security concerns, it actually has a larger reach. The legislation would set up a process in which the President could take action against any apps deemed dangerous due to their alleged foreign adversary ties.

There are some stipulations, however. The app would need to be deemed a national security threat, have over one million annual active users, and be identified as being controlled by a foreign adversary. Despite this, some politicians have been outspoken about the bill, even though TikTok is already banned for federal employees. Some politicians have argued that it would give too much power to the federal government and would equate to censorship and restrict freedom of speech.

The Select Committee on the CCP argued that the bill does not censor speech. The committee also noted that no social media users using the selected apps would be punished and that the app would need to provide copies of offline user data in the event of a ban so users can migrate to another platform.

This isn't the first time the government has targeted TikTok. Last year's DATA Act was seen as one step closer to banning the app in the US. What has people particularly interested in this legislation is its scope and President Biden's promise that he will pass the bill if it gets to him.