Advertisement
US-China relations
China

US House overwhelmingly passes bill to force ByteDance to divest TikTok

  • Fast-tracked legislation, which passed 352-65, now heads to Senate, where passage is less clear; US President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill into law
  • Should ByteDance fail to sell off the short-video app, TikTok would face a ban on operations within the US

Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
99+

03:10

Protests at US Congress after House passes bill that could potentially ban TikTok nationwide

Protests at US Congress after House passes bill that could potentially ban TikTok nationwide
Bochen Hanin Washington
The US House of Representatives voted 352-65 to pass a bill on Wednesday to force Chinese tech company ByteDance to divest its popular short video sharing app TikTok, lest it face a ban on operations in the US.

The legislation, which gives ByteDance about six months to divest, now heads to the Senate, where Democratic and Republican leaders have sent mixed signals about whether they will support it.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was non-committal on Wednesday when asked about bringing it up for a vote, while Kentucky Republican Rand Paul has said he will block efforts to pass the bill unanimously.

Opposition to the TikTok bill has been almost as bipartisan as support for it. Fifteen Republicans and 50 Democrats voted against the bill on Wednesday; there was one abstention.

Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House select committee on China, introduced the TikTok bill on March 5. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House select committee on China, introduced the TikTok bill on March 5. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
US President Joe Biden last week said he would sign the bill into law if it passes both chambers, though the legislation is likely to face litigation even if it becomes law. Previous efforts to restrict TikTok, which date back to 2020, have stalled or been blocked by courts.

Reacting to Wednesday’s vote, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We hope the Senate takes action and takes this up very quickly.”

Advertisement