There is a group of MPs presented a new bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok in order for the app to remain available in the US. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemy-Controlled Apps Act would ban US app stores and web hosting services from distributing TikTok unless it divests parent company ByteDance.
The bill is the latest in a series of attempts by lawmakers and other officials to ban or force the sale of the app. Former President Donald Trump tried to use force In 2020, TikTok, however, ultimately failed. The Biden Administration also put pressure on the company . And more recently, a US District Court judge An attempt to ban the practice in Montana.
A new bill from a bipartisan group of House lawmakers takes a different approach. That would have given ByteDance a six-month window to sell TikTok before bans at the app store level would take effect. It will also require TikTok and other apps to “provide users with a copy of their data in an importable format.” Although TikTok has been referenced several times According to the bill, the legislation would open the door to bans on other “foreign adversary controlled” apps if the president deems them a threat to national security.
“This bill is an outright ban on TikTok, no matter how hard creators try to hide it,” TikTok said. . “This legislation would trample on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of the platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”
Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, argued that there was a cut fully addresses officials’ concerns about US user data. The company has spent years trying to address national security concerns about its service with a so-called initiative . Under the plan, which resulted from years of negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the data of US users would be allocated to servers located in the US, and government officials would be able to oversee the audit of TikTok’s source. code and other aspects of its operation.
The Washington Post Last year, TikTok’s negotiations with CFIUS were recently “revived amid doubts. [Biden] the administration has the power to ban TikTok arbitrarily.” If Congress could pass the new bill, it would clarify questions like these and create a new process to force ByteDance’s hand.
