Biden will sign TikTok ban bill if Congress passes it
US President Joe Biden says he will sign legislation advancing through Congress that could lead nationwide ban on the social media app TikTok.
The House of Representatives plans to vote on Tuesday or Wednesday on legislation that would allow Biden to ban the app unless ByteDance divests the widely popular video-sharing app within six months.
"If they pass it, I'll sign it," Biden said Friday.
The legislation could force TikTok to separate from its China-linked parent company, ByteDance, or face restrictions that could bar it from US app stores.
US lawmakers claim the app poses "critical threats to our national security" because its parent company, ByteDance, was "required to collaborate" with the Chinese government.
TikTok crackdown bill, however, faces an uncertain outcome in the Senate where some lawmakers say they want changes to the bill.
The bill, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would need to pass the Senate as well before reaching the president’s desk.
The legislation would allow Biden, via the FBI and intelligence agencies, to name certain social media apps as “national security threats” if they are determined to be under the control of foreign adversaries.
Members of Congress said they were concerned that China can access US user data.
TikTok denies it shares data about its US users with Beijing.
In a statement posted to X, the app described the move as "an outright ban... no matter how much the authors try to disguise it".
"This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the move represented an effort to score "cheap political points during an election year.”
The ACLU said many people in the United States relied on TikTok for information and communication.
The app has been downloaded 170 million times in the United States.
TikTok is banned on US government devices, but Biden's re-election campaign recently joined the app.
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