Congress considers TikTok ban

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A congressional committee inches the U.S. one step closer to banning TikTok.

On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to force the social media’s parent company, Bytedance, to divest or risk being banned in America. The bipartisan group of lawmakers fear data will be given to the Chinese government if TikTok continues to operate on American devices.

“Can any of this information that’s on the platform get to the CPP?” Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) said. “He said ‘no’ and he lied to me. We found out very quickly that it wasn’t housed in someplace in Virginia. That Bytedance, could supply it directly to the CCP which did ask for it. That’s our concerns.”

As expected, TikTok users are furious. Many called their lawmakers in DC after a notification from TikTok told them the situation and provided users with their representative’s number.

George Washington University professor Pete Loge explained the likelihood of the social media platform disappearing from U.S. phones.

“One argument is that this isn’t a violation of the 1st amendment because congress isn’t trying to ban content just who can own media outlets in the U.S,” Loge said. “The argument in favor of it violating the first amendment is the people who don’t have the means by which to get their messages or opinions out then it doesn’t mean anything. That’s why, to have this being meaningful there needs to be outlets like TikTok. This is one for the courts.”

Loge said even if it does get banned, it may not be the end of video-based social media.

“If TikTok is somehow shut down, a young entrepreneur will look around and say hey there’s a cool market for this thing – a short video service,” Loge said. “Maybe others will pick up the slack, other sites see an uptick. The idea of content creators, people sharing information, and sharing cute videos of their puppies… this isn’t going anywhere.”

The parent company, Bytedance, has 165 days to divest if the measure is approved by congress. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wants a floor vote next week before sending it to the Senate.

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