The vast majority of House Republicans voted in favor of legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States, despite previous opposition from former President Donald Trump.
The House of Representatives voted 352-65 on legislation calling on ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest the application or face a possible ban in the U.S. Among Republicans, 15 voted no, as Trump urged, and 197 Republicans voted yes.
The context:
While appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box on Monday, Trump explained that he previously supported a TikTok ban while in office. However, he warned this week that a ban on the app could result in Facebook's growth.
"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media," Trump said.
What we know:
Earlier this month, members of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced legislation seeking to require TikTok to split from ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S.
According to a press release from the House Select Committee on the CCP, the bill will also allow the president to designate certain applications as "social media applications that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary—per Title 10—and pose a national security risk."
Under this designation, the applications will be banned from app stores in the U.S., unless they cut ties with the foreign adversary through divestment.
"This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users," House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman Mike Gallagher said in a statement.
Views:
Representative Robert Garcia, who voted against the bill, told Newsweek that he shares people's concerns about the security of TikTok, but said they weren't considering the impact to the 270 million people who use the app regularly. He pointed to the impact to small business owners who use the app to sell their product and the communication within underrepresented groups.
Representative Matt Gaetz, who also voted against the bill, told Newsweek he was worried that the legislation was "broad" and unavailable for amendments.
"We ought to have the opportunity to present amendments and to have them voted on," Gaetz said.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also expressed opposition to the TikTok legislation ahead of the vote.
"While I don't support ANY foreign interference in America, Democrats are creating a narrative that TikTok is going to 'interfere in elections,' so they can claim the 2024 election is rigged just like they did in 2016," Greene wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
"This is why Democrats support banning TikTok. The Dems are ready to ban any social media they see as a threat including X and Truth Social....We have to protect FREE SPEECH!"
TikTok previously sent notifications to users throughout the U.S. urging them to call their local representatives and tell them to vote against the proposed legislation.
What's next:
The bill will now go to the Senate for a vote, although it's unclear if the Senate will have enough votes to pass it.
Update 03/13/24, 5:31 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Representatives Garcia and Gaetz.
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