Critics say Beijing might power video-sharing app to share information on its US customers and unfold propaganda.
Lawmakers within the United States are transferring forward with proposals to ban TikTok until it cuts ties with its Chinese mother or father firm amid claims the platform might be used to spy on Americans and manipulate public opinion.
A US House of Representatives committee on Thursday voted 50-0 to advance the invoice, setting it up for a possible full vote within the close to future.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise mentioned on X that he would deliver the “critical national security bill” to the House ground for a vote subsequent week.
The invoice, launched by Republican Mike Gallagher, would give Beijing-headquartered ByteDance roughly six months to divest or face a ban.
The newest push to limit TikTok comes after former President Donald Trump’s efforts to ban the app in 2020 had been blocked by the courts.
🚨 The @HouseCommerce Committee simply voted 50-0 to power TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese Communist Party. I’ll deliver this crucial nationwide safety invoice to the House ground for a vote subsequent week.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 7, 2024
TikTok’s critics have argued that Beijing might power the platform to share information on its US customers and unfold propaganda and misinformation.
TikTok has denied sharing private information with the Chinese authorities and insisted it will refuse any request if requested.
“The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression,” TikTok mentioned in a press release accusing the laws’s backers of in search of the predetermined end result of a complete ban.
“This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”
Gallagher denied in search of to ban the platform outright, saying it might proceed to function within the US “provided there is that separation”.
“It is not a ban – think of this as a surgery designed to remove the tumour and thereby save the patient in the process,” he mentioned.
The prospects of the invoice changing into legislation are unclear, though concern about TikTok extends to either side of the aisle.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has backed the measures, and the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has broadly welcomed the proposals whereas indicating the laws “still needs some work” to achieve its help.
In November, a choose blocked the state of Montana from implementing its first-of-its-kind ban on TikTok, saying it violated the free speech rights of customers.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/3/8/us-lawmakers-advance-bill-to-force-tiktok-to-cut-ties-with-chinese-owner?traffic_source=rss
