Just In: House Votes to Pass Potential TikTok Ban, Which Could Decide Fate of the App

By an overwhelming margin, the House on Wednesday passed legislation that would require TikTok to separate from its China-based ownership or face a potential ban in the U.S.

The vote was 352-65, with one member voting present and 14 members not voting. Fifteen Republicans and 50 Democrats opposed the measure.

Republicans voting against the bill were: Andy Biggs of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Warren Davidson of Ohio, John Duarte of California, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Thomas McClintock of California, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, David Schweikert of Arizona, and Greg Steube of Florida, according to the House clerk’s website.

Lawmakers have argued that data shared with TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, can be mined by the Chinese government because of China’s laws.

“Apps like TikTok allow the Chinese Communist Party to push harmful content to our youth and engage in malign activities, such as harvesting the location, purchasing habits, contacts, and sensitive data of Americans. Today’s bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans and signals our resolve to deter our enemies,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said, according to CNN.

Trending:

Top White House Official Accused of ‘Classic Me Too’ Behavior, But His Connection with Jill Biden Makes Him ‘Untouchable’: Report

“I urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the president, so he can sign it into law,” he said.

The bill’s fate in the Senate is uncertain.

“The Senate will review the legislation when it comes over from the House,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Do you use TikTok?

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries explained why he and other Democrats backed the measure.

“It’s now appropriate for the Senate to evaluate the merits of the legislation. I don’t support a ban on TikTok. The legislation did not ban TikTok. It’s simply a divestiture of TikTok, so that this social media platform can be owned by an American company that would protect the data and the privacy of the American consumer from the latent foreign interests, like the Chinese Communist Party,” he said, saying he opposes actually banning TikTok

Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said he opposed the bill because it was not fair  “single out” one company, according to NBC.

“I got a bunch of Chinese companies in my district. They make refrigerators and all kinds of stuff,” he said.

Related:

Rand Paul, Tucker Carlson, and Others Warn of ‘Trojan Horse’ TikTok Ban; Claim It Could Do Damage to First Amendment

Mace, who also opposed the bill, said it went too far.

“It is not the role of government to ban apps from the app store. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that,” she said.

Paul Barrett, deputy director of New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, said the vote was a result of China and ByteDance not reading America’s mood, according to CNN.

“Faced with persistent bipartisan suspicion in the U.S., ByteDance and the Chinese government should have read the political signals more astutely and spun off TikTok as a stand-alone American company,” Barrett said.

“A broad U.S. ban would inhibit Americans from using TikTok to express themselves — an outcome that would limit free speech and make no one happy,” he said.


A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:

 

I heard a chilling comment the other day: “We don’t even know if an election will be held in 2024.” 

 

That wasn’t said by a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday prophet. No, former U.S. national security advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that to the founder of The Western Journal, Floyd Brown.

 

Gen. Flynn’s warning means that the 2024 election is the most important election for every single living American. If we lose this one to the wealthy elites who hate us, hate God, and hate what America stands for, we can only assume that 248 years of American history and the values we hold dear to our hearts may soon vanish.

 

The end game is here, and as Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

 

All of this means that without you, it’s over. We have the platform, the journalists, and the experience to fight back hard, but Big Tech is strangling us through advertising blacklists, shadow bans, and algorithms. Did you know that we’ve been blacklisted by 90% of advertisers? Without direct support from you, our readers, we can’t continue the fight.

 

Can we count on your support? It may not seem like much, but a Western Journal Membership can make all the difference in the world because when you support us directly, you cut Big Tech out of the picture. They lose control. 

 

A monthly Western Journal Membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content — news, commentary, and premium articles. You’ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America’s soul in 2024.

 

We are literally counting on you because without our members, The Western Journal would cease to exist. Will you join us in the fight? 

 

Sincerely,

Josh Manning

Deputy Managing Editor

The Western Journal



Source link