BREAKING: House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill That Threatens To Ban TikTok

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for a bill that would force TikTok to be banned in the United States if Chinese owner Bytedance refuses to divest. The final vote saw 352 lawmakers voting in favor of the bill while 65 voted against. The vote saw a number of strange bedfellows, with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) voting alongside former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voting alongside Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL).

Proponents of the legislation cited the potential national security threat that TikTok poses, given its ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its potential to influence the millions of young minds that use the app every day. Critics of the legislation, however, pointed out the potential First Amendment concerns with the legislation and worried that the bill was too broad and could be used against other companies.

TikTok previously attempted to pressure lawmakers into not passing the bill out of committee, but their pressure campaign backfired when all 50 members, both Republican and Democrat, voted to advance the bill. The legislation would ban TikTok from U.S. app stores if Bytedance refused to divest from the company within 165 days after the bill was signed by President Biden. 

While the legislation made it past the first hurdle in the House, it is unclear whether Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will bring the bill to a vote in the Senate. 

This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
 

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