TikTok Raises Free Speech Concerns Over U.S. House Bill Banning App

The popular social media app TikTok is facing potential banning in the U.S. after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell its stake within a year. The legislation, which passed by a wide margin of 360 to 58, is now heading to the Senate for a vote.

TikTok has raised concerns about free speech rights, with the company stating that the bill would trample on the rights of its 170 million American users. However, many lawmakers and the Biden administration argue that TikTok poses national security risks due to the potential for China to access user data.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed concerns about TikTok being used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese government. He emphasized the risk of allowing the Communist Party access to personal data of millions of Americans.

While some progressive Democrats have raised free speech concerns and called for stronger data privacy regulations instead of a ban, others believe that a ban may not survive legal scrutiny. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna mentioned that a TikTok ban could face challenges under the First Amendment’s free speech protections.

The legislation gives ByteDance a nine-month deadline to divest its U.S. assets, with a possible three-month extension if progress towards a sale is made. The issue of TikTok’s ownership was also discussed in a recent call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

As the debate over TikTok’s future in the U.S. continues, the app’s fate remains uncertain. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.