Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday in favour of a bill to require social media platform, TikTok, to cut its connection with parent company, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States.
The bill received bipartisan backing with a 352-65 vote.
President Joe Biden has already said that he would support the legislation, but TikTok faces an uncertain fate as the bill heads to the Senate.
The bill’s fate in the Senate is yet to be determined but analysts say it may not scale at the US Senate.
Although the bill’s supporters declined to describe it as a “ban,” however, if passed by the Senate, it would create two possible outcomes.
In the easier scenario, TikTok will have to strike a deal to split its Chinese ownership within six months and continue to operate in the US under that arrangement.
However, in the more dire outcome, if ByteDance refuses to sell TikTok, it would become illegal for software marketplaces like Apple’s App Store and Google Play to distribute the software in the US.
TikTok is caught in an ongoing political battle over allegations the China-based company could collect sensitive user data and politically censor content, however, TikTok has repeatedly stated it has not and would not share US user data with the Chinese government.
TikTok, which has 170 million users in the US, has argued otherwise, stating that it is not clear if China would approve any sale, or that it could be divested in six months.
In a reaction, TikTok said in a statement, “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.”
The plan to force ByteDance to sell TikTok began during the Donald Trump administration as an executive order but Mr Biden revoked it.
However, Mr Donald Trump has changed his tune as he seeks to win back the Presidency he vacated in 2020.
Although the bill was written with TikTok in mind, it is possible other China-owned platforms could be affected, including US operations of Tencent’s WeChat, which President Trump also sought to ban in 2020.
