Biden ready to sign bill that could ban TikTok in US, Trump opposes

imeng.vip:03月-10日 Our daily news digest will keep you up to date with engineering, science and technology news, Monday to Saturday.

President Joe Biden has expressed his support for a bipartisan bill that could ban the popular social media app TikTok in the US if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.

Election drama?
The bill, called the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was passed unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday. It aims to protect Americans from the potential spying risks posed by apps controlled by foreign adversaries, such as China.

“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Biden told reporters on Friday, referring to the bill.

The bill would give ByteDance 165 days, or about five and a half months, to divest TikTok to a US entity. If it fails to do so, TikTok would be banned from US app stores and web hosting services, effectively cutting off access to its 170 million American users.

The bill would also apply to other apps deemed controlled by foreign adversaries, such as WeChat, which Chinese tech giant Tencent owns.

Lawmakers cite national security concerns
The bill is the latest attempt by US lawmakers to crack down on TikTok, which has been accused of being a tool for Chinese espionage and censorship. TikTok has denied these allegations and said it operates independently from ByteDance.

The bill’s sponsors, Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House China Task Force, a special committee focused on countering China’s influence.

They said the bill was necessary to protect Americans from the threat of foreign interference and manipulation through social media platforms.

“Today, we will take the first step in creating long-overdue laws to protect Americans from the threat posed by apps controlled by our adversaries, and to send a very strong message that the US will always stand up for our values and freedom,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the committee’s ranking member, said he was convinced by the testimony of national security officials from a closed-door hearing on Thursday that the bill was warranted.

“I take the concerns raised by the intelligence community this morning very seriously,” Pallone said. “They have asked Congress to give them more authority to act in these narrowly defined situations, and I believe that this bill will do that.”

The bill is expected to be brought to a House floor vote next week, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who announced it on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

TikTok fights back
TikTok has not given up on its US market and has launched a campaign to oppose the bill and rally its users.

The company has displayed full-screen pop-ups in the app, warning that the bill “strips 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”

“This will damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience,” the notification reads, according to CNN.

The campaign concludes with a call to action that urges users to follow a link and dial their members of Congress to express their opposition to the bill. According to multiple congressional staffers on Thursday, House offices are inundated with phone calls from the campaign – sometimes in the hundreds.

Many calls are coming from confused teenagers and older people, who don’t know why they are calling or how TikTok might be at risk, according to a GOP aide.

TikTok has also argued that it has taken steps to address the concerns raised by the US government, such as hiring an American CEO, establishing a US-based board of directors, and creating a transparency and accountability center.

The company also sued the Trump administration last year over its attempts to ban TikTok, claiming that it was denied due process and that the ban was based on political motives. The case is still pending in court.

TikTok has also been in talks with several US companies, such as Oracle and Walmart, to form a partnership that would allow it to continue operating in the US. However, the deal has been stalled by regulatory hurdles and uncertainties under the Biden administration.

Trump opposes the bill
On the rather funny or surprising side, Donald Trump, who is a former president and a top contender for the Republican nomination this year, has voiced his opposition to this legislation. It’s worth noting that Trump supported a similar bill during his presidency in 2020 and even promised to prohibit TikTok in the United States. However, those attempts eventually failed.

In a social media post, Trump expressed his concern: “If you eliminate TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last election, to thrive. They are a true enemy of the people!”