Why TikTok Faces a US Ban Over National Security

The US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban TikTok in the US unless its Chinese owner sells the video-sharing app, mounting the most serious challenge yet to a service that’s used by 170 million Americans but critics call a national-security threat. The measure passed by a final vote of 352 to 65. Now it goes to the Senate. Bloomberg’s Jackie Davalos reports.Source: Bloomberg

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By Alex Barinka and Daniel Flatley

March 13, 2024 at 3:36 PM UTC

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Depending on whom you ask, the short-form video platform TikTok is either a showcase for goofy dances and makeup tutorials or a sophisticated threat to US national security. Because TikTok Inc. is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance Ltd. — and because China requires its companies, upon request, to share any national security-related data with the government — TikTok’s popularity among Americans carries implications beyond the mobile-phone screen. That’s on top of hand-wringing by parents, educators and mental-health experts about whether TikTok’s content and addictive nature are unhealthy for young minds.

The US House of Representatives passed a bill on March 13 that would force TikTok to sell or face a ban in the US. The legislation has the backing of the White House, even as President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has started to use the platform to reach younger voters. All of this is complicated by former President Donald Trump, Biden’s opponent for president this year, who reversed his previous support for a ban, posing a dilemma for Senate Republicans who were to take up the legislation next.