On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to the U.S. banning the social platform Tik Tok entirely.
The vote was 352-65, with one member, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), voting present. The bill now heads to the Senate.
“Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security," GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement after the vote.
"Today’s bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies," he added.
The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act passed by the House would give TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, five months to sell the platform, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. If TikTok is not divested in this time frame, it would be illegal for app stores like Google and Apple or web hosting services to make it available for users to download.
Fifty Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the bill (via NBC News):
Among them were progressives like Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a Senate candidate, as well as conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who lamented that she had previously been banned from social media.
The top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., was a surprising no vote. He also cited free speech issues with the bill.
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Reportedly, there are over 170 million Americans who use TikTok. The bill now heads to the Senate.
“We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok – a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party," Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said in a joint statement.
"We were encouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, and look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law," they added.
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