In a move with major implications for millions of American teens, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations within six months or face a ban. The legislation, backed by a strong bipartisan majority (352-65), highlights growing national security concerns surrounding China’s access to user data through the hugely popular video-sharing app.
The bill’s passage comes amidst a clash between national security anxieties and the app’s immense popularity, particularly among teenagers. Lawmakers from both parties, citing concerns about potential data access by the Chinese government, have long eyed stricter regulations for TikTok.
However, the legislation has drawn significant pushback from its core user base. Reports indicate that many teenagers, who represent a substantial portion of TikTok’s 170 million American users, have bombarded lawmakers’ offices with calls opposing the ban. The sheer volume of these calls, some reports suggest, even surpassed those received during discussions about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
While the House delivered a resounding vote, the bill’s future in the Senate remains uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has yet to reveal his plans for the legislation. However, a glimmer of bipartisan support emerged shortly after the House vote, with Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) issuing a joint statement expressing their desire to see the bill passed.President Joe Biden has also signalled his approval of the legislation. Although the administration has clarified that the primary goal is to end Chinese ownership of TikTok, not necessarily ban the platform itself, Biden has indicated he would sign the bill into law.
Even if the bill passes the Senate, significant hurdles remain. The six-month timeframe for ByteDance to find a buyer for its U.S. assets seems ambitious, and China’s approval for such a sale is far from guaranteed. Furthermore, any forced divestment would likely trigger legal challenges from TikTok, similar to those that thwarted previous attempts to ban the app.
The House vote marks a significant development in the ongoing saga surrounding TikTok in the U.S. Whether the Senate follows suit and the legislation ultimately survives legal challenges remains to be seen.
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In a career spanning three decades and counting, Ramananda (Ram to his friends) has been the foreign editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and the New Indian Express. He helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.
His work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and Ashahi Shimbun. But his one constant over all these years, he says, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.
He can rustle up a mean salad, his oil-less pepper chicken is to die for, and all it takes is some beer and rhythm and blues to rock his soul.
Talk to him about foreign and strategic affairs, media, South Asia, China, and of course India.
