US Lawmakers Propose Bill to Force TikTok Sale or Face Ban

Lawmakers in the United States are introducing a bill that will force ByteDance to sell TikTok. Several House members are demanding the Chinese internet technology company's divestiture or a ban on the app could be enforced in the US-based app stores.

Engadget said a group of legislators have announced a new bipartisan bill to pressure ByteDance into putting TikTok up for sale. They told the divestiture plan is the only way for the popular app to remain accessible in the U.S.

Authors of the Bill

The statesmen introduced the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which would make it illegal for U.S. app stores and web hosting services to distribute TikTok unless ByteDance sells it to other operators. Moreover, this bill will give the Chinese firm six months to divest, and failure to do so will lead to the app's restriction in the U.S.

Rep. Mike Gallagher and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi are the principal authors of the bipartisan bill. It is co-led by Elise Stefanik, House Republican Conference chairman, Rep. Kathy Castor, Rep. Bob Latta, Rep. Andre Carson, Rep. Kevin Hern, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Chip Roy, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Rep. Neal Dunn, Rep. Haley Stevens, Rep. Ralph Norman, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, Rep. Kat Cammack, Rep. Ritchie Torres, Rep. John Moolenaar, Rep. Shontell Brown, Rep. Ashley Hinson, and Rep. Josh Gottheimer.

"This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users," Republican Chairman of the House of Representative's Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Mike Gallagher, said in a statement via press release. "America's foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States. TikTok's time in the United States is over unless it ends its relationship with CCP-controlled ByteDance."

TikTok and ACLU’s Responses

Via a post on X, formerly Twitter, TikTok said the bill is simply a ban on its app. It added that the lawmakers are just camouflaging the move as an act "to protect the Americans." The company further said this move will affect five million small businesses, and people could lose jobs.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also responded and slammed the House bill that may lead to TikTok's ban. In the group's statement, its senior policy counsel, Jenna Leventoff, said they are disappointed and called the "unconstitutional."

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