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The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday (March 13) that could ban TikTok in the United States. The bipartisan legislation passed by a vote of 352-65, with one abstention.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act requires TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, to divest from it within 165 days. While Bytedance can sell TikTok to a company in a foreign nation, that country cannot be considered a foreign adversary to the United States.
Supporters of the bill say it is necessary to protect national security and U.S. consumers. They have warned that because Bytedance is a Chinese company, it could be compelled to share sensitive information about users with the Chinese government.
"Apps like TikTok allow the Chinese Communist Party to push harmful content to our youth and engage in malign activities, such as harvesting the location, purchasing habits, contacts, and sensitive data of Americans. 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," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
Opponents of the bill argue that banning TikTok would violate the First Amendment and harm people who use it to promote their businesses.
"You will be destroying small businesses like us; this is our livelihood. We've created success," Paul Tran, who, with his wife, runs a skincare company called Love and Pebble, said at a pro-TikTok rally outside the Capito, according to NBC News.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is unknown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not said if he will bring the legislation to the floor for a vote.