TikTok told to break with China’s Communist Party or lose access to US users

New push by American lawmakers would give parent company ByteDance 165 days to divest, else the popular app would no longer be available on app stores

‘America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States,’ says bill’s co-sponsor

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Republican congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, chairman of the House select committee on competition with China and a co-sponsor of the new legislation, has been a vocal critic of TikTok in the US. Photo: Bloomberg

Ji Siqiin Washington

Published: 1:56am, 6 Mar 2024Updated: 4:05pm, 6 Mar 2024

American lawmakers have mounted a new legislative effort targeting popular social media app TikTok, citing national security threats arising from its Chinese ownership and forcing its parent company ByteDance to divest from it or face a ban in the US.

Representative Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House select committee on competition with China, and the panel’s ranking Democrat, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, introduced the bipartisan bill on Tuesday joined by 17 other lawmakers.

The legislation would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok or else the app would no longer be available on app stores or accessible on US-based web hosting services.

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the House energy committee chair and a Republican from Washington, announced a committee mark-up for the bill on Thursday, which will be preceded by a hearing on legislative efforts to protect US data and national security from foreign adversaries.

Similar attempts to ban TikTok or force divestiture from its Chinese owners date back to 2020 during the administration of former US president Donald Trump. Various prior executive orders and bills have been either stalled or blocked by courts.

TikTok told to break with China’s Communist Party or lose access to US users

New push by American lawmakers would give parent company ByteDance 165 days to divest, else the popular app would no longer be available on app stores ‘America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States,’ says bill’s co-sponsor

New push by American lawmakers would give parent company ByteDance 165 days to divest, else the popular app would no longer be available on app stores

‘America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the United States,’ says bill’s co-sponsor