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House set to vote on bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S.

By Kirstin Garriss, CMG Washington News Bureau
By Kirstin Garriss, CMG Washington News Bureau

WASHINGTON — When you hop on TikTok you can see influencers as young as seven years old like Cree Carroll.

“DNA has nucleotides which are read to make RNA which make proteins,” said Carroll during one of his TikTok videos.

He’s a science wiz who loves teaching lessons on his channel, Cree TV. Cree is one of the roughly 170 million Americans on TikTok but that could be changing soon.

“We’re talking about foreign ownership and control of an app,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, R – Wisconsin.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is on track to vote on a bill that would ban the social media platform over concerns about its connection to China.

If approved, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, would have 6 months to sell the app.

U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that Chinese intelligence laws make it possible for Beijing to collect user information data from ByteDance.

TOPSHOT-US-CHINA-POLITICS-ECONOMY-INTERNET-TIKTOK TOPSHOT - People gather for a press conference about their opposition to a TikTok ban on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 22, 2023. - The White House was reported on March 15, 2023, to have told the app TikTok that it will be banned in the US if it continues to be owned by the Beijing-based tech firm Bytedance. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“The editor in chief of ByteDance is himself the secretary of the very Chinese Communist Party cell embedded in the leadership of ByteDance,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D – Illinois.

If ByteDance doesn’t sell by the deadline, then he bill would block the social media platform from U.S. websites and app stores.

Last year, the company’s CEO Shou Chew told lawmakers that the app poses no threat to Americans.

A TikTok spokesperson said the legislation threatens the right to free expression. In a statement, the spokesperson said “This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”

The American Civil Liberties Union is also pushing back concerns over first amendment violations.

But some lawmakers argue this bill doesn’t harm those protections.

“Once that foreign ownership is addressed, not only will people be able to continue to say whatever they want on the app, you’ll also have freedom of thought,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, R – Wisconsin.

The House could vote on this measure as early as this Wednesday. If it’s approved by the House and the Senate, President Biden said he will sign it into law.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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