A measure that would force the popular video app TikTok to be banned nationally if its Chinese owner does not sell its shares was passed by the House. The MPs took action because they believed that the company’s present ownership structure posed a threat to national security. After passing by a vote of 352-65, the bill now moves on to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. With over 170 million users in the United States, TikTok is a fully-owned subsidiary of ByteDance Ltd., a Chinese technology company.
Legal and regulatory hurdles
The congressmen claim that ByteDance is under the control of the Chinese government, which has the right to request access at any time to the data of TikTok users in the United States. The source of the concern is a series of national security legislation in China that require firms to cooperate with intelligence collection. The main conflict in Washington right now isn’t between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Politicians who wish to prohibit TikTok or compel its sale are at odds with those who wish to keep the well-known social media site unaltered. This problem in Washington, unlike most others, does not fall neatly into the Republican or Democratic camps. Trump chose to fight. During his presidency, he attempted to convince ByteDance Ltd., the company’s Beijing-based owner of TikTok, to sell the business or risk a nationwide ban by using national security as a pretext. “He perceived it as a means of penalizing China for the Covid-19 outbreak,” states Stephen Myrow, the managing partner of Beacon Policy Advisors, a research organization that monitors the problem.
Legal battles and court injunctions
Bipartisan support for a ban in a key House committee vote last week set the process in motion. TikTok launched a ferocious lobbying effort, encouraging its video makers to contact their congressional representatives through push alerts. Most of it backfired. TikTok was accused by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party of “lying to its users and using them to lobby Congress to benefit a foreign adversary.” The committee was co-authored by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, and Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin. Nothing in Washington, including the TikTok ban, is ever as straightforward or obvious as it first appears. First, a group of legislators from both parties oppose it. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a libertarian Republican who opposes government intervention in business, particularly with Chinese-owned social media companies, finds it offensive. Many liberals, including the inventor herself, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, dislike it as well because they believe it would restrict the freedom of speech of youth and because they are wary of the China hawks.
Global impact of a TikTok ban
Trump had a meeting with Jeff Yass, the millionaire co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, a company that owns 15% of ByteDance and a significant Republican donor. Trump had changed his tune by Monday. During a phone interview with CNBC, he stated, “A lot of people love TikTok.” “Many young children on TikTok will go insane without it.” Ironically, the number of lawmakers seeking to put a ban on TikTok with conflicting agendas and large egos may be the largest hurdle to such a measure. While several senators have already begun to voice their disapproval of the House approach, no counterpart bill has been introduced in the Senate. It is anticipated that Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, would eventually lead the charge on a TikTok law. Easter break is coming up soon. The legislative procedure is going to take longer. Politicians from both parties are also concerned about upsetting young people by interfering with their preferred app, especially with elections coming up.
Public opinion and political dynamics
While there is pressure for a TikTok ban, a forced divestment may be more plausible. Or the altercation can go like a well-known Washington narrative: a major altercation, loud headlines, and then nothing. TikTok is like dry tinder waiting to catch fire every time it comes up. However, it always fizzles out, and it will most likely do so once more in this instance. The issue is that it’s hard to get an agreement on a single issue when everyone has a plan. There is a more localized worry, even if politicians will undoubtedly consider the business and international policy ramifications of outlawing TikTok. It’s become commonplace to call an election after the hottest platform of the day since politicians use social media every election cycle to try to win over young people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, One may make a compelling argument for the TikTok Election 2024. Every month, almost 170 million Americans use the app. About one-third of US individuals under 30 and roughly 43% of TikTok users say they routinely obtain their news from the platform, which is twice as many as three years ago, according to the Pew Research Center.
