House Passes Bill: TikTok Warns US Ban Would ‘Trample Free Speech’

TikTok warns US Ban would ‘trample free speech’ after the US house passed the bill to ban the app.

TikTok claims that a prospective ban on its app in the US would “trample the free speech” of 170 million Americans.

The US House of Representatives voted on Saturday to ban TikTok unless the app’s owner cuts connections with China.

The legislation was part of a US foreign policy package that included help for Ukraine and may become law as soon as next week.

In recent months, US officials have expressed concern over TikTok’s appeal among young people.

They claim TikTok’s owner, Bytedance, is subordinate to Beijing, something it has often rejected.

The TikTok legislation was part of a package adopted by lawmakers that will provide $61 billion (£49 billion) in foreign aid to Ukraine, as well as money to Israel and Taiwan.

The House of Representatives voted first on TikTok’s future, passing the modified divest-or-ban law by 360 to 58.

The Senate is set to vote on the bill next week, and US President Joe Biden has previously stated that he will sign it.

A TikTok representative condemned the bill, claiming it “would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion (£19.4 billion) to the US economy annually.”

According to TikTok, ByteDance “is not an agent of China or any other country”. And ByteDance says it is not a Chinese company, citing the many global investment groups that own 60% of it.

The US House of Representatives voted in March to give ByteDance six months to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners or disable the app in the US, but the law is currently awaiting Senate approval.

ByteDance, founded in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneurs, first achieved success with the short video app Douyin in China. A year later, it introduced TikTok, an international version.

It is now managed by a limited liability corporation based in Los Angeles and Singapore, but it is primarily owned by ByteDance.

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