The House on Wednesday passed a bill with broad bipartisan support that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner to either sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in the United States.
The move escalates a showdown between Beijing and Washington over the control of technologies that could affect national security, free speech and the social media industry.
Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill through the House with limited debate, and it passed on a lopsided vote of 352-65, reflecting widespread backing for legislation that would take direct aim at China in an election year.
The action came despite TikTok’s efforts to mobilize its 170 million U.S. users against the measure, and amid the Biden administration’s push to persuade lawmakers that Chinese ownership of the platform poses grave national security risks to the United States.
The bill faces a difficult road to passage in the Senate, where Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, has been noncommittal about bringing it to the floor for a vote and where some lawmakers have vowed to fight it. And even if it passes the Senate and becomes law, it is likely to face legal challenges.
@SmeltSteve2mos2MO
"Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and you saw a news report that China had distributed 100 million sensors around the United States... That's precisely what TikTok is," Klon Kitchen, who worked in the U.S. intelligence community, said in 2020
@ZealfulYakGreen2mos2MO
Klon Kitchen, who worked in the U.S. intelligence community
@ImportedCoyoteGreen2mos2MO
Ever wonder why the speech of Americans has to be curtailed to fight this great civilizational battle against China?
@PollingTaylorLibertarian2mos2MO
No, it’s “antisemitism” and Israel. Audio was leaked of a meeting at the ADL in which Jonathan Greenblatt discussed this. The Israel Lobby has a huge problem with the youth of America, and TikTok is a big reason why, he said.
It’s not an “anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.”
@LionJohnnyLibertarian2mos2MO
Correct. This also started picking up steam not long after the CEO of TikTok was called out in a webinar of Jewish influencers (including Sasha Baron Cohen) for not dealing with anti-semitism on the platform
@C1v1cPloverLibertarian2mos2MO
The TikTok bill gives Biden the power to ban websites & apps run by “a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity.” Given that Biden routinely smears political opponents as being under the control of Putin, the danger should be obvious.
@VoterIDDinosaurNo Labels2mos2MO
Accurate. It’s also enough to open up costly investigations and criminal liability of all website or app controllers which will cause most of them to further bend the knee to the censorship we saw in the Twitter Files. This is online infrastructure version of the patriot act in terms of potential for govt overreach.
@BubblyTealLibertarian2mos2MO
Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin join Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Elise Stefanik, Lauren Boebert in voting to ban millions of Americans from TikTok and other "foreign adversary controlled" apps. Who says bipartisanship is not alive and well in our Nation?
@J0intComm1tteeJakeGreen2mos2MO
Why aren't they banning PornHub? (Check ownership)
@EagleVioletConstitution2mos2MO
Great points from Rep Thomas Massie:
On the legislative sneak-attack to ban TikTok before the full implications of the bill are widely known.
Some claim TikTok is a "trojan horse" for China, says Massie, but this bill actually is a "trojan horse" for the US National Security State
@CleverOryxDemocrat2mos2MO
I usually don't agree with Republican Thomas Massie, but this TikTok ban sounds like a Trojan Horse. Why are we giving any president to power to ban a social media app? If Trump wins, do we really want him to have the power to shut down Facebook or any app he disagrees with?
@ResilientL3ftyLibertarian2mos2MO
The fact that advocates of the TikTok bill refuse to take overreach concerns seriously and instead attack the people who raise them as traitors — the tried-and-true tactic of scoundrels to stampede us into stupid policies — only convinces me that the bill must be rotten.
@Resolute2028Libertarian2mos2MO
They used the same tactics in passing the Patriot Act.
@ResilientL3ftyLibertarian2mos2MO
Yes. And every stupid foreign war.
@LibertyOatmealLibertarian2mos2MO
If you've wondered how the US Government got away with drastic infringements on free speech in the past, you just got a great lesson in it today. Create fake emergency conditions, short-circuit debate, whip up scary-sounding foreign threats, and claim it's for "national security"
@ThriftyConservaRepublican2mos2MO
the reach of TikTok isn't fake
CCP has complete control over it, it truly is a national security matter
@LibertyOatmealLibertarian2mos2MO
"CCP" doesn't control it and just saying "CCP" doesn't make a security threat. The United States is constantly threatening and militarily encircling China and they don't return the favor so be specific please.
@BallotBoxHaileyLibertarian2mos2MO
Pay attention:
Republicans wants TikTok to disappear ever since they’ve blaimed TikTok for Trump losing the election. Second : Republicans have an issue with freedom of speech, ergo books bans, using antisemitism to stop demonstrations, attacking journalists, etc
@AntelopeMariaRepublican2mos2MO
Tiktok had nothing to do with him losing. That would be the 300+ government officials colluding, and the election officials allowing massive untraceable fraud.
Lead sponsor of the TikTok bill, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) admits the real reason they're rushing to ban TikTok -- because it's "becoming the dominant news platform for Americans under 30" and the US government doesn't control it like other platforms.
@WidgeonBarryLibertarian2mos2MO
Gallagher also falsely states that the bill cannot "penalize" individuals, as though blocking millions of Americans from their preferred social media platform is not a "penalty," and denies that the ban would "censor speech," even though it would explicitly prevent Americans from expressing speech over TikTok
@SenateSeatSeagullRepublican2mos2MO
I understand this bill is about government control (which is always bad), but it's still terrifying to think that ANYONE gets their news from Tiktok.
@WidgeonBarryLibertarian2mos2MO
Why is that "terrifying?"
@SenateSeatSeagullRepublican2mos2MO
As retarded as your average TikTok user is, the average content creator on that app is even more retarded...
It's the blind leading the blind, meaning as those young people become full adults, they'll have so much misinformation in their brains it'll be idiocracy in a generation
@C4ucusEverlyWorking Family2mos2MO
AOC Votes NO On TikTok Bill:
"I’m voting NO on the TikTok forced sale bill.
This bill was incredibly rushed, from committee to vote in 4 days, with little explanation.
There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote."
@FalconAlexandraRepublican2mos2MO
AOC is right to vote NO on the TikTok bill because Biden would undoubtedly use that bill to censor 𝕏 and free speech.
That’s the only way Democrats can win — by cheating.
If AOC really cared about serious threats to our national security she’d insist Biden secures the border.
@B1ll0fRightsHannahForward2mos2MO
The amount of outright lying going on right now about the TikTok bill is unusual even by Washington, DC standards. They're about to pass one of the most momentous acts of state censorship in US history, and they continue to lie and insist they're not actually doing this
@FabulousSheepLibertarian2mos2MO
They are banning it because it’s Chinese and successful. End of story.
@9KV6WS92mos2MO
Tik-Tok should be banned from the owner as he is ruining it.
@9KV6VQ92mos2MO
This is censorship because TikTok is allowing the people to gather against the corporate pigs these politicians cater too.
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
@ISIDEWITH2mos2MO
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