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Is TikTok Getting Banned In America?
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill (352-65) that would force ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) to divest their American assets within 6 months or face a nationwide ban. The Department of Justice warned that the Chinese company ByteDance could be used for “surveillance and censorship”.
So how did the House vote, will TikTok actually get banned and how will it affect you and me?
What is the left saying?Although Democrats were a little more resistant to the bill, only 50 Democrats voted against the bill. Prominent Democrats like AOC, Kathleen Clark & Ruben Gallego all voted against the bill, but it wasn’t enough to stop it. Alongside them, many young voters also oppose the ban — the majority of people under 30 in America use the app. Furthermore, half the country uses TikTok with the average user spending almost an hour on the app every day. So Americans may soon shift their time to other social media platforms competing with TikTok. But what does Joe Biden think of this? ”Biden recently told reporters that he would sign the House’s TikTok ban into law…” Biden would ban the app if the bill lands on his desk, even though he joined TikTok earlier this year (to connect with younger voters, ahead of this year’s election). And with a big election year ahead of us, no politicians will want to be seen as “soft” on China. So it’s no surprise Biden’s made this decision, but is it in the best interest of America? For now, Biden is yet to sign anything — but who knows if that will change in the coming months… | What is the right saying?The majority of Republicans voted in favour of the new bill, with just 15 Republicans voting against it. Republicans and many on the right overwhelmingly supported the bill due to their more outspoken concern for national security. And so it’s no surprise a Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson had something to say: "In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself." Mr. Wang made some more comments on the recent bill, click here to see what he said. But he felt the potential ban is completely unfair, as he claims the US “never found evidence that TikTok threatens national security”. And of course, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had something to say too: “We have invested to keep your data safe and our platform free from outside manipulation.” Mr. Chew clearly states in the clip there is no outside manipulation, meaning that the ‘national security‘ threat from the Chinese Government is untrue. Do you think this is the case or has the CEO been told to say this? Click here for his full statement. |
Let’s Seek Common Ground, What Are The Facts?
The bill was introduced by Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, and Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin (transcript of their “Face the Nation” appearance)
Here is how everyone voted on the bill
TikTok CEO statement in response to the new bill, here
Billions of dollars could be pulled from the US economy, according to TikTok
300,000 jobs will be at risk, here (0:47)
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