The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would ban the popular social media platform TikTok in the United States if its China-based owner, ByteDance Ltd., does not sell its stake within a year. However, the app is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
Is TikTok going to be banned?
Key Points:
- The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel, fast-tracked the ban after an earlier version had stalled in the Senate.
- A standalone bill with a shorter, six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app’s owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
- The modified measure, passed by a 360-58 vote, now goes to the Senate after negotiations that lengthened the timeline for the company to sell to nine months, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress.
- Members of both parties, along with intelligence officials, have worried that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over American user data or direct the company to suppress or boost TikTok content favorable to its interests.
- TikTok has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government and has said it has not shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.
- The U.S. government has not publicly provided evidence that shows TikTok shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or tinkered with the company’s popular algorithm, which influences what Americans see.
- TikTok has good reason to think a legal challenge could be successful, having seen some success in previous legal fights over its operations in the U.S. In November, a federal judge blocked a Montana law that would ban TikTok use across the state after the company and five content creators who use the platform sued.
Age Distribution of TikTok Users Worldwide
- 10-19 years old: 25%
- 20-29 years old: 22.4%
- 30-39 years old: 21.7%
- 40-49 years old: 20.3%
- 50+ years old: 11%
