US President Joe Biden announced on Friday his intention to sign a bill that would require China's ByteDance, the parent company of the popular short-video app TikTok, to divest the app in about six months. However, his Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, expressed concerns about the potential ban of the service, which is utilized by 170 million Americans.
The US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the TikTok crackdown bill next week, with the possibility of voting on either March 13 or March 14. The bill, unanimously approved by a committee on Thursday, will be subject to a voting threshold requiring two-thirds of members to vote affirmatively for approval.
President Biden, a Democrat, assured reporters that he would sign the bill if it passes the House. Nevertheless, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where some lawmakers are advocating for modifications to the legislation.
In contrast to Biden, Republican Donald Trump, eyeing a return to the White House in the upcoming November election, voiced objections to a TikTok ban. Trump asserted on social media that banning TikTok would result in Facebook doubling its business, expressing his reluctance to see Facebook "doing better."
Earlier, Trump criticized Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms for restricting his access to Facebook and Instagram following the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot. His accounts were reinstated in February 2023. However, the Trump campaign has not provided an immediate comment on his stance regarding the legislation, and Meta Platforms declined to comment.
The Justice Department informed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that a divestiture bill, rather than an outright ban on TikTok, would place the government in a stronger legal position.
Mike Pence, the former vice president under Trump, endorsed the proposed House legislation, asserting on the social media platform X that China is adversely influencing American children, and it is time to take action.
The bill proposes giving ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok. Failure to comply would result in app stores operated by Apple, Google, and others legally being barred from offering TikTok or providing web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.
In 2020, Trump attempted to ban TikTok and the Chinese-owned WeChat, but these efforts were thwarted by the courts. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who had previously hindered attempts to expedite a TikTok ban, responded to Trump's statement by highlighting Trump's role in addressing concerns about US TikTok users through a $1.5 billion company project.
TikTok, asserting that it has not and will not share US user data with the Chinese government, contends that the House bill essentially constitutes a ban. The company expressed uncertainty about whether China would approve any sale or if TikTok could be divested within six months.
In response to the House Energy and Commerce Committee vote, TikTok stated that the legislation predetermined the outcome: a total ban on TikTok in the United States. The company characterized the government's actions as an attempt to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression.
Given the app's popularity and the challenges of obtaining approval from both the House and Senate in an election year, the fate of the legislation remains uncertain. Last month, Biden's re-election campaign joined TikTok.
