The legal battle surrounding social media app TikTok has continued to gain steam after the U.S. House of Representatives threw a Hail Mary pass yesterday, voting overwhelmingly to potentially send TikTok packing unless its Chinese investors at ByteDance agree to divest their stakes in the app. This takes online beef to a whole new level.
This decision, marking the first time Congress has targeted a specific internet app with a ban, was wrapped in the pretext of national security concerns. However, is that all there is to this story? As it stands, some 170 million American users, accustomed to scrolling through an endless buffet of short video content, are now worried that the popular app will no longer be available on their devices.
The bill, charmingly dubbed the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” like a joke-bill straight from a satire about propaganda that whooshes over the heads of casual consumers, soared through the House with a vote of 352-65. Bipartisanship, apparently, is not dead when it comes to scrutinizing social media apps with foreign ties.
Here’s where it gets interesting: President Joe Biden, who launched an official TikTok account, @bidenhq, as part of his reelection campaign, has hinted he’d sign this decree into law, stirring the pot even further.
Yeah, this is the same person who, back in 2022, signed legislation that banned the use of TikTok on government-owned devices. As George Saunders put it, “Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up.”
Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the architects of the TikTok bill, paint this as a valiant stand against the Chinese Communist Party’s nefarious reach. Meanwhile, TikTok, caught in the crosshairs, insists it’s just a platform for creativity and connection, not an alleged Trojan horse for Beijing.
The proposed legislation would require ByteDance to sell TikTok within five months. Failing to do so would make it unlawful for app store owners like Apple and Google to offer TikTok for download in the USA.
Critics of the bill are sounding the alarm on free speech and innovation, pointing out that cutting off access to TikTok could stifle a vibrant community of creators and fans. Then there’s the international angle: China has already signaled that forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok would be met with resistance, if not outright retaliation.
At this stage, the battle for TikTok’s survival in the US is a high-stakes game of chicken, with billions of dollars and the future of international relations on the line. Who would have thought annoying teens and their silly public dancing would lead to this?
As the Senate prepares to weigh in and with legal challenges almost certain to follow, it’s clear the TikTok drama is far from over. Whether it will end with a divestiture, a ban, or a dramatic last-minute compromise, only time will tell. All eyes are now on Washington as it decides the fate of America’s favorite digital distraction.
