‘TikTok bill’ passes House vote, but is not yet banned

13.03.2024 - 15:23 / polygon.com / Bobby Kotick

The United States House of Representatives has passed the “TikTok bill” that would effectively ban the short-form video-sharing app if owner ByteDance doesn’t divest. Representatives voted on Wednesday on the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, pushing it forward with a majority vote of 352 to 65. The bill is expected to move onto the Senate for another vote if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) brings it to the floor. President Biden said he’d sign the bill should it reach his desk.

Despite the vote, TikTok is not banned in the United States; the app will remain available indefinitely. The bill needs to pass several layers of government processes; Senator Schumer said he will consult with committee chairmen to decide whether to bring it for a vote in the Senate. If it moves into the Senate, it will face another vote where its face is uncertain. If it passes in the Senate, it’ll move to President Biden for a signature. That signature doesn’t necessarily mean TikTok is banned — the government’s goal is to get ByteDance to sell the app to an American owner. If ByteDance doesn’t comply, that’s when distributing TikTok would become illegal.

“I’m voting NO on the TikTok forced sale bill,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “This bill was incredibly rushed, from committee to vote in 4 days, with little explanation. There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote.”

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) added that the bill could potentially impact “an infinite number of companies.” In opposition, Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) claimed that ByteDance and TikTok employees are “taking orders” from the Chinese Communist Party. Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal) also urged members to vote yes, while others assured members that the bill will only result in a ban if ByteDance doesn’t sell the app.

The bill was proposed by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in early March. The bill would prohibit ByteDance apps — like TikTok — on U.S. app stores; TikTok can stay, though, if the app “severs ties” to ByteDance, a Chinese company. Crucially, the bill is not limited to ByteDance and TikTok, though it is the app targeted currently; the bill could impact companies, websites, and apps from countries deemed by the government as “foreign adversaries.” If the bill is signed into law, ByteDance would have 165 days to sell the app. A Wall Street Journal report suggested that ex-Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is looking to purchase TikTok.

The bill would make it illegal to distribute