An unusual law has been proposed in the United States, which would prohibit the use of the social network TikTok in the country, and which is making great strides after being approved by the House of Representatives.
The initiative received 352 votes in favor, from both the Republican and Democratic caucuses, with the opposition of only 65 members of both parties. Now the project will go to the Senate for analysis and vote.
In accordance with CNNthe proposed bill requires TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, in order to continue operating in US app stores.
The measure arises due to concerns about national security, as legislators argue that the laws of the Asian giant could force this company to hand over data on TikTok users to the Chinese government.
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who chairs a House select committee on China, denied that the bill is a ban, saying the end result depends on the company, not the user.
“It is not a prohibition. It puts the decision to break its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party directly in the hands of TikTok. As long as ByteDance no longer owns the company, TikTok will be able to continue (…) the basic ownership structure has to change,” he indicated.
On the other hand, some Democrats face pressure from young people in the United States, for whom TikTok is their favorite social network and demand respect for their freedom of expression on it.
Meanwhile, company officials have strongly rejected the bill, arguing that it would lead to an outright ban in the US and violate users’ constitutional rights to free expression.
Concern about “national security” about TikTok had already given rise to talk in 2023, when Senator Tom Cotton went viral on networks for insistently interrogating the company’s CEO, Shou Chew, accusing him of relating to the Chinese Communist Party, without distinguish that he is a citizen of Singapore and not China.
The official accuses him of “communism” and seems not to understand that Singapore is a country, which is not part of China, as he continues to insist, a reaction that was ridiculed and heavily mocked on networks, especially on TikTok.
Chew is currently trying to schedule last-minute meetings with members of Congress in an effort to change lawmakers’ minds, so far without success.
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