Critics say Beijing may drive video-sharing app to share information on its US customers and unfold propaganda.
Lawmakers in america are shifting forward with proposals to ban TikTok except it cuts ties with its Chinese language mum or dad firm amid claims the platform may very well be used to spy on Individuals and manipulate public opinion.
A US Home of Representatives committee on Thursday voted 50-0 to advance the invoice, setting it up for a probable full vote within the close to future.
Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise mentioned on X that he would deliver the “vital nationwide safety invoice” to the Home ground for a vote subsequent week.
The invoice, launched by Republican Mike Gallagher, would give Beijing-headquartered ByteDance roughly six months to divest or face a ban.
The newest push to limit TikTok comes after former President Donald Trump’s efforts to ban the app in 2020 have been blocked by the courts.
🚨 The @HouseCommerce Committee simply voted 50-0 to drive TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese language Communist Celebration. I’ll deliver this vital nationwide safety invoice to the Home ground for a vote subsequent week.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 7, 2024
TikTok’s critics have argued that Beijing may drive the platform to share information on its US customers and unfold propaganda and misinformation.
TikTok has denied sharing private information with the Chinese language authorities and insisted it might refuse any request if requested.
“The federal government is trying to strip 170 million Individuals of their Constitutional proper to free expression,” TikTok mentioned in an announcement accusing the laws’s backers of looking for the predetermined final result of a complete ban.
“This can injury hundreds of thousands of companies, deny artists an viewers, and destroy the livelihoods of numerous creators throughout the nation.”
Gallagher denied looking for to ban the platform outright, saying it may proceed to function within the US “supplied there may be that separation”.
“It’s not a ban – consider this as a surgical procedure designed to take away the tumour and thereby save the affected person within the course of,” he mentioned.
The prospects of the invoice changing into regulation are unclear, though concern about TikTok extends to each side of the aisle.
Republican Home Speaker Mike Johnson has backed the measures, and the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has broadly welcomed the proposals whereas indicating the laws “nonetheless wants some work” to realize its help.
In November, a decide blocked the state of Montana from implementing its first-of-its-kind ban on TikTok, saying it violated the free speech rights of customers.
