The U.S. steps up its fight against TikTok

Buckle up, folks; we’re going through the ins and outs of the U.S. government vs. TikTok. 

What happened: A U.S. House of Representatives committee voted unanimously to advance a proposed bill forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its ownership stake in the app within 165 days, lest the app be banned in the country entirely.

• The development has put a scare in TikTok, which has gone on the defensive, urging U.S. users with fullscreen in-app pop-ups to call their local congressperson.
  
  
• The plan appears to have backfired, though. Local congressional offices were inundated with so many calls that some angry politicians turned off their phone lines.  

Why it’s happening: The U.S. fears that China — its eternal frenemy that it’s currently in a soft cold war against — can force ByteDance to hand over data about TikTok users. Though TikTok denies this, and there’s no evidence for it, experts believe the fear isn’t unfounded. 

Catch-up: U.S. TikTok bans have repeatedly hit roadblocks. The courts blocked an effort by ex-prez Donald Trump in 2020; last year, Congress held up the first bill aimed at getting ByteDance to divest; and a federal judge repealed Montana’s state-level TikTok ban.

• Trump has changed his tune, going hard against a TikTok ban since it would benefit Meta and “Zuckerschmuck” (Mark Zuckerberg), who he feels is a “true enemy of the people.” 

Why it matters: The speed at which the legislation is moving and the bipartisan support behind it shows that lawmakers aren’t playing games this time around. If it passes and ByteDance refuses to divest, TikTok will leave the U.S., altering the social media landscape.   

• Not only would this result in ~170 million users and scores of advertisers reallocating their time and money elsewhere — likely Instagram — the legislation could galvanize other nations wary of Chinese interference (say, Canada) to take similar actions.   

What’s next: The House will vote on the bill and likely pass it next week. Then, it would just need Senate approval as the White House has already signalled support. At that point, the only thing in its way would be legal challenges on the grounds that it’s unconstitutional.—QH