Congress voted in favor of banning the popular social media app TikTok on Wednesday, following its passage last week by the House Energy Committee. The bill requires any company controlled by a “foreign adversary” to be divested within 180 days.
Pressure against the app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, has been mounting for years. Security concerns have focused on the app’s capacity to spread misinformation and ByteDance’s data management practices.
The bill proposes divesting TikTok to a US-based company. If ByteDance refuses to sell, US-based app stores and Web hosting services would be barred from offering the app, with companies facing fines for non-compliance.
While the House overwhelmingly supported the bill, Senate consideration remains uncertain. If passed, it would mark the first legislative attempt to effectively ban a major social media platform like TikTok, which counts approximately 170 million American users.
Issues with TikTok concerning data privacy and data storage extend beyond the US, raising concerns in the UK — where TikTok had to pay a massive fine last year for disregarding data protection for children — and across the EU.
Use of the app is…
