TikTok fate remains in peril as House panel votes to advance ban bill

The idea of outright banning TikTok in the United States has been debated in Washington for several years now. The possibility is all the more likely today as lawmakers in the House of Representatives have voted to advance a TikTok ban bill.

Members of the bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee, which consists of 51 members of the House, voted unanimously to move the draft legislation out of committee.

The bill will now move on to the floor to be debated by the full House of Representatives. If the ban bill passes, the Senate would need to agree on the same legislation before the U.S. President could sign the bill into law.

Technically, the bill being considered isn’t a total ban on TikTok in America. Instead, it puts pressure on app stores to remove TikTok unless parent company ByteDance sells TikTok.

The bill would also make it hard for internet hosting services to keep TikTok online.

Meanwhile, TikTok has launched a counter campaign through its app. A new splash screen encourages users to call their representatives in Congress and oppose legislation to ban the service.

You can learn more about the legislation being considered by the House here.

More

• TikTok under investigation in Europe for failing to protect children
• Federal TikTok ban – new law is tried; third US state sues
• Bird vs ByteDance: Iowa sues TikTok over App Store age rating
• US TikTok ban still subject of negotiation; app fined over privacy
• NYC declares TikTok a ‘security threat’ as it bans app for city employees

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