Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The US House of Representatives has voted to force TikTok to sell its US assets or be banned.
- The bill still has to be sent to the Senate before being signed into law.
TikTok has been under close scrutiny in the US over the last few years, as politicians cited national security concerns over the mega-popular Chinese-owned platform.
Now, the US House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill forcing TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell its US assets or be banned, Reuters reported.
The bill, which was passed 352-65, will now be sent to the Senate for a vote. One US representative voted “present,” and 14 others (seven from the Republican Party and seven from the Democratic Party) declined to vote.
President Joe Biden already confirmed last week that he would sign a bill banning the platform. However, it’s believed that the bill could face an uncertain fate in the Senate.
The move also comes against a backdrop of US actions against various Chinese industries and companies in the name of national security. The US instituted a trade ban against HUAWEI, barred chipmakers from supplying advanced manufacturing equipment to Chinese companies, and barred US companies from selling advanced AI chips to Chinese firms.
