The future of TikTok in the U.S. is even more uncertain now that President Joe Biden has endorsed measures to force the sale of the social media company.
Last week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved a bill that would require the short video site to either divest itself entirely from parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S. Now Biden tells CBS News, “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.”
The bill is slated for a full vote on the House floor later this week.
TikTok has been a concern to government officials for much of the past five years, given ByteDance’s China ties. Critics are worried about the Chinese government potentially being able to influence users via the site’s algorithm and the troves of data the app collects about U.S. users.
The current initiative, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would give TikTok six months to find a buyer. If it doesn’t, the app would be banned from U.S. app stores and web-hosting services.
TikTok has objected to the bill, saying in a statement last week: “This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”
Last Thursday, TikTok, in an attempt to stop the bill from passing the committee, flooded its users’ phones with a push notification and a message to “Stop a TikTok shutdown,” with a link that allowed users to quickly call their representatives from within the app. Several Congress members, though, said it simply proved their point that the app could shape the opinions of large numbers of Americans.
Biden’s support of the ban comes despite his campaign joining TikTok last month as it courts younger voters. The campaign says it’s using a separate cell phone for TikTok posts, keeping the app isolated from other communications. Other protective steps are also being taken, it said.
