WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republicans are expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that would ban TikTok in the US unless it parts ways with its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Some lawmakers have alleged the video-sharing app — used by 170 million Americans — poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could force ByteDance to hand over the data of US TikTok users.
The White House says President Joe Biden is prepared to sign the bill, while former President Donald Trump has signaled some concern about it.
House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers expressed confidence the measure would pass and downplayed Trump’s opposition, noting he previously supported the idea of cracking down on the app before abruptly reversing his stance.
If enacted, the bill would give TikTok roughly five months to separate from ByteDance, or app stores in the US would be prohibited from hosting the app on their platforms.
