Biden says he will sign a bill banning TikTok if Congress passes it

The bill, unanimously passed by the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday (August 7), calls on ByteDance - TikTok's parent company - to divest ownership of the app or face a US ban.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also supports the bill, but the Senate has not yet made a similar move. The bill needs to be approved by both parties before it reaches President Joe Biden's desk. "If they pass it, I will sign it," Biden told reporters when asked about the law.

Mr. Biden once joined TikTok in the hope of attracting young voters. Photo: Daily Star

If enacted, the bill would place restrictions that would prevent TikTok and other ByteDance apps from appearing on Apple or Google app stores, or on web hosting services in the US.

The bill has two tracks. First, it requires ByteDance to divest TikTok and its other apps within 180 days of the bill's enactment, or those apps will be banned in the US.

Second, the bill creates a narrow process that would allow law enforcement to ban access to an app owned by ByteDance if it poses a threat to US security.

Both the FBI and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have warned that ByteDance may share user data such as browsing history, location, and biometric identifiers with regulators in China. TikTok denies this and says it would not do so even if asked, and the US has not provided evidence that TikTok has stolen data.

Last month, the AP and NORC released a survey that found Americans are deeply divided on the issue of banning TikTok. According to the survey, 31% of US adults support a nationwide ban on TikTok, while 35% oppose a ban. Additionally, 31% of adults said they neither support nor oppose a ban on the popular video -sharing app.

TikTok’s roughly 170 million US users are less concerned about the app sharing user data, with about 25% of daily users saying they are “extremely or very concerned” about the possibility of Chinese authorities collecting personal information from US users.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-biden-noi-se-ky-luat-cam-tiktok-neu-quoc-hoi-my-thong-qua-post287293.html