Hyderabad: The US House of Representatives passed legislation that could lead to a ban on the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company's current ownership structure is a national security threat.
The bill, passed by a vote of 352-65, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear. TikTok, which has more than 170 million American users, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
First country to ban TikTok - India
It was India which first took the decision to block the Chinese short-video-making platform in the world. In 2020, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese-created apps, including TikTok, focusing on their vision to defend India's national security.
India’s case of banning TikTok was also cited when United States lawmakers voted in support of legislation about the Chinese app on Wednesday. Security threat angles stems out of the Apps links to the Chinese government amid lawmakers arguing that Beijing can have access to the entire data of the app and the profiles on it.
Before being banned by New Delhi, the Indian Army asked its personnel to delete 89 mobile apps, including several Chinese apps, from their smartphones to curtail leakage of information.
Why US is banning TikTok?
According to the US lawmakers, ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the US whenever it wants.
“We have given TikTok a clear choice,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party), and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok's.”
President Joe Biden has said if Congress passes the measure, he will sign it. By targeting TikTok, lawmakers are tackling what they see as a grave threat to America's national security — but also singling out a platform popular with millions of people, many of whom skew younger, just months before an election.
What does the Bill say?
The bill calls for prohibiting TikTok in the U.S. but makes an exception if there's a "qualified divestiture."
That could only happen if the U.S. president determines "through an interagency process" that TikTok is "no longer being controlled by a foreign adversary," according to the bill. Not only that, but the new U.S.-based TikTok would have to completely cut ties with ByteDance. That includes no more "cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm or an agreement with respect to data sharing."
TikTok's response
In a video posted on Wednesday evening, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said that the company has invested to keep user data safe and the TikTok platform is free from outside manipulation. If passed, he said the bill would give more power to a handful of other social companies.
“We will not stop fighting and advocating for you. We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you,” Chew said in his message to the app users. (With AP Inputs)
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