The looming TikTok ban saw a massive progression earlier today as the United States Congress voted 50-0 to a bill that advances it to the House floor for another vote. This came after TikTok's recent push notifications to US users stating that this was an automatic ban for the platform, asking them to call their local representatives and urge them to vote "NO."
After months of deliberation, TikTok is still facing a possible ban in the United States despite proving to the representatives that they are not affiliated with the Chinese government.
TikTok Ban: US Congress Approves Bill 50-0, Now Moving Forward
(Photo : Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Gizmodo reported that the US Congress already approved the bill from US Representative Mike Gallagher with a 50-0 vote, and this approval now progresses the case to a House floor vote which would then take it a step further to a TikTok ban.
However, Chairman Gallagher reiterated that this "is not a ban on TikTok," as if approved, it would give the FBI and other agencies to identify social media apps under foreign adversaries, with the US President deciding whether to ban them or not. Still, would give the platform 180 days to sever its ties with ByteDance to avoid getting banned in the United States.
TikTok Asked Users to Call Local Reps, Led to Bill's Progression
This approval of the bill came after TikTok's call to action for its US users to appeal to their local representatives to vote "NO" on the said proposal, calling about this potential TikTok ban. It was later clarified by the social media that it only sent push notifications to users over 18 years of age.
TikTok is alerting its U.S. users of a potential ban through notifications, urging them to oppose Congress’ move that could “infringe on free expression rights for 170 million Americans”.
This comes as bipartisan-supported legislation threatens TikTok’s operation in the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/Silrsmc78D
House GOP staff reportedly claimed that their offices were bombarded with phone calls from US teens, asking them to stop the ban on TikTok and urging them to vote against it.
According to a Politico reporter, this campaign "backfired" against TikTok as it urged several naysayers to vote for this bill.
TikTok's US Ban: Shou Chew and the Congress
The massive ban on TikTok is a long-running dispute between the platform and the US government, centering on its Chinese ties, particularly as it is owned by ByteDance. Its operations in the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were later sold to Oracle, a US-based tech conglomerate, which initially avoided the ban, but was later asked to complete divesting its assets to the company.
Despite this, it was still believed that TikTok has ties to the Chinese government, particularly the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), one which saw heated arguments in Congress. TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew also went on the stand and faced massive arguments with the US representatives, with its chief operating officer, Vanessa Pappas, claiming that it "felt rooted in xenophobia."
Various states in the US attempted to ban TikTok, including that of Montana which was later reversed, also including the Chinese part of TikTok's access to US data, which was later clarified by the social media to no longer have ties and has been deleted.
The long, enduring fight of TikTok led to this latest approval of the bill to move forward for a House vote after the social media platform sparked a massive move to appeal to US representatives by bombarding them with calls.
