The recent passage of a bill in the House of Representatives has set the stage for a potential upheaval in the social media landscape, particularly for TikTok, one of the most popular platforms globally. This legislation mandates that ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, either divest its ownership of the platform or risk facing a complete ban within the United States. Swiftly following the House’s decision, the Senate also voted in favor of the bill, with President Joe Biden signing it into law mere hours later.
For TikTok, this represents perhaps its most significant existential threat in the United States to date. While the app faced a ban in Montana previously, legal challenges deemed such actions unconstitutional, sparing TikTok from expulsion. However, the current bill signifies a more coordinated effort at the federal level to address concerns regarding the platform’s ownership and data practices.
At the heart of this legislative push lies apprehension about TikTok’s ties to China and the potential risks associated with its parent company’s access to user data. Lawmakers worry that ByteDance could exploit its access to sensitive information or potentially censor content in line with Chinese government directives. Despite assurances from TikTok that it does not share US user data with Chinese authorities and assertions that data is stored outside China, concerns persist, fueled further by reports of ByteDance employees accessing non-public data of US TikTok users.
Efforts to assuage these concerns, including testimony by TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, before Congress, have not quelled fears among legislators. The bill passed by Congress gives ByteDance a narrow window to divest from TikTok, requiring a sale to a non-Chinese entity within a specified timeframe. However, uncertainties remain regarding the feasibility of such a sale and the potential approval from Chinese authorities, leading TikTok to decry the bill as effectively a ban.
The trajectory of TikTok’s fate in the US has been tumultuous, marked by executive orders, legal battles, and state-level bans. Despite the shifting political landscape, the prospect of a ban or forced divestiture underscores ongoing bipartisan concerns about national security and data privacy.
However, enforcing such a ban presents technical challenges given the decentralized nature of the internet. While measures targeting app stores and internet service providers are proposed, circumvention through VPNs and other means remains a possibility. Moreover, the broader implications of such legislation on free speech and the internet ecosystem as a whole are subjects of contention among policymakers and advocacy groups.