House Passes Bill That Could Lead To TikTok Ban

March 13, 2024 10:45 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell. Lawmakers are acting on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a U.S. national security threat. The bill passed Wednesday by a vote of 352-65. It now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear. TikTok has more than 150 million American users and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. The lawmakers contend ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. TikTok denies it could be used as a Chinese government tool.