US House Passes Bill To Ban TikTok Unless Sold

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Facts

  • The Republican-majority US House on Wednesday passed by a vote of 352-65 a bill forcing ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, to sell the social media platform within six months or face a ban in the US.1
  • Lawmakers who passed the bill in a bipartisan manner generally believe TikTok is a threat to national security fearing ByteDance is beholden to the PRC and its national security laws compelling companies to assist with intelligence gathering.2
  • TikTok, which boasts 170M users in the US, in a statement lamented that the House 'jammed through' the bill in secret, and expressed hope the Senate will 'consider the facts' before passing the bill.3
  • Although Democratic Pres. Joe Biden, who this week secured the party's nomination for the 2024 election, said he would sign the bill, it faces challenges in the Senate, where there have been questions about the legality of focusing on only one company.4
  • The House bill passed days after former Pres. Donald Trump, who will be the Republican nominee in this year's election, voiced his opposition to the ban. Trump, as president, issued an executive order banning the platform, but it was challenged in court.5

Sources: 1The New York Times, 2Associated Press, 3Reuters, 4USA Today and 5FOX News.

Narratives

  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by FOX News. ByteDance must divest TikTok or it must be banned because it's a national security threat to the US. The Chinese Communist Party has cleverly created a platform with addictive algorithms that can easily manipulate the minds of the millions of Americans using it. It's so bad, that it's even banned in China, so there's no reason why the US should be allowing China access to Americans' minds and data.
  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. It's laughable how the US claims it stands for free speech and fair competition but then its politicians pass a bill that's the equivalent of political robbery. US lawmakers have convicted TikTok of being a national security threat despite not having one ounce of evidence. They're willing to deny millions of their citizens access to a platform they love in the name of scoring political points. Free speech and rule of law are dead in the US.

Predictions