US House Introduces Bill to Divest or Ban TikTok within Days

The US House on Saturday introduced bill that would force ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to divest its stake in the ownership structure and put it on a fast track to becoming law, linking it to a significant aid package for Ukraine and Israel, according to Bloomberg.

A massive lobbying effort led by TikTok CEO Xu Qiu has failed to overcome a bipartisan coalition concerned about the app's collection of data from more than 170 million Americans — and the possibility of the Chinese government using it to spread propaganda.

The broad legislation, passed by a vote of 360 to 58, would place new restrictions on data brokers who sell information to foreign adversaries, and allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.

The Senate is expected to vote on the measure next week, and President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation.

“This bill protects Americans, especially America’s children, from the malign influence of Chinese propaganda on TikTok,” said Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas.

He continued: “This application is a spy balloon on Americans’ phones.”