US House passes bill: The proposed legislation aims to compel ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of social media giant TikTok, to divest its controlling stake within six months or face removal of the app from the US market. Despite passing with overwhelming bipartisan support, the US House passes bill which still requires approval from the Senate and the president to become law. Lawmakers have voiced longstanding apprehensions regarding China’s sway over TikTok, given ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters and its obligation to share data with Chinese authorities under national security laws.
Republican co-author Mike Gallagher emphasized the imperative of mitigating risks associated with a dominant news platform in the US being owned by a company beholden to the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok has attempted to address regulatory concerns by asserting measures to safeguard the data of its 150 million US users from access by ByteDance employees in China. However, a Wall Street Journal investigation in January revealed that the system remains “porous,” with instances of data sharing between TikTok in the US and ByteDance in China, raising significant concerns.
Following the legislative vote, TikTok criticized lawmakers for rushing through what they characterized as a “ban” through a “secret” process. The company’s response underscores the contentious nature of the legislative process and the ongoing debate over the regulation of social media platforms with ties to foreign governments. As the bill moves forward, stakeholders will continue to scrutinize TikTok’s data practices and the implications of its ownership structure, particularly in the context of national security and user privacy.Read More…
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