By Kasey Sheridan
On March 13, the Houseof Represemtatives passed a bill that puts pressure on ByteDance, the China-based company that owns the popular social media
app TikTok. The bill demands that ByteDance sell TikTok within six months, or the U.S. will pull it from all app stores in the country.
Though the bill has the support of President Joe Biden who said on March 8 that he would sign it. However, its future in the Senate is currently unpredictable.
Much of the backlash the bill is receiving comes from people who think the ban violates the Firs Amendment, which guarantee freedom of speech to every
American citizen. Those in favor of the bill claim that ByteDance, being a Chinese company, poses a threat to national security. TikTok, on the other hand, has made U.S. numerous claims that it refuses to hand over American data to the Chinese government and have taken steps to ensure the safety of American users.
Two representatives who voted against the bill, and don’t tend to agree on many issues ar Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(D.). Rep. Greene, who referred to her ban on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that the bill infringes on her freedom of speech and that passing it would be like “opening Pandora’s Box.” Oscasio-Cortez stated that the bill was “incredibly rushed” and, if the Senate shares the same sentiment, there’s a chance the bill could be altered, which would slow down the process it would need to pass through the lower chamber again. There is also the chance that, if passed, ByteDance will push back against the bill in court potentially delaying the ban.
As of January 2024, there are 150 million TikTok users in the U.S.
