Kit Roberts
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill which would ban TikTok in the US if its owners don't sell.
The bill would force the app's owner ByteDance to sell its stake in the platform within six months or have the app be banned from US app stores and web hosting services.
It was introduced amid concerns over ByteDance's connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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The bill passed by a vote of 352-65, and will now go on to the Senate, according to the Associated Press.
TikTok currently has around 170 million users in the US.
Lawmakers in favour of the bill argued that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, and that it could request the data held by TikTok whenever it wants.
However, opponents have criticised the bill over what they claim are draconian measures which raise concerns around freedom of speech.
Both opposition and support for the bill has been bi-partisan.
President Biden has also confirmed that if the bill is passed by Congress, he will sign it.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was in favour of the bill and made her position clear to TikTok.
She told AP: “We have given TikTok a clear choice. Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party), and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok’s.”
But opponents of the bill have criticised it for employing 'CCP-style oppression' to address their concerns around data security.
Rep. Tom McClintock told AP: “The answer to authoritarianism is not more authoritarianism.
“The answer to CCP-style propaganda is not CCP-style oppression. Let us slow down before we blunder down this very steep and slippery slope.”
TikTok has denied that it can be used as a tool of the Chinese government.
The company has said that it has never shared user data from the US with Chinese authorities, and that if asked to do so it will refuse.
Passing the House is only the first step for the bill. In order to become law it will need to be passed by the Senate.
Senators have already indicated that it will need to undergo a review before its path can be decided.
Critics of the policy have also highlighted that many of TikTok's practices regarding data collection are not unique to this platform, but are also done by US tech companies.
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Not a single thing that we heard in today’s classified briefing was unique to TikTok. It was things that happen on every single social media platform."
Others have expressed concern over the many small businesses which rely on TikTok for publicity.
Rep. Robert Garcia said: “This idea that we’re going to ban, essentially, entrepreneurs, small business owners, the main way how young people actually communicate with each other is to me insane."
A spokesperson for TikTok told UNILAD: "This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it's a ban.
"We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service."