The US House of Representatives passed a bill under which if the Chinese owner of the popular video app TikTok does not sell TikTok, then the app will be banned nationwide.
US lawmakers have taken this step considering the company’s current ownership structure as a threat to national security. In the House of Representatives, 352 votes were cast in favor of this bill and 65 against it, due to which the bill was passed by voice vote. The bill will now go to the Senate, where its chances of passage are unclear. TikTok has more than 150 million users in the US. TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
Lawmakers argue that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which can demand access to the data of TikTok users in the US whenever it wants. This threat stems from China’s many national security laws, which force organizations to cooperate in intelligence gathering. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said, we have given TikTok the opportunity to choose its option in clear words.
