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Is TikTok Banned? What You Need To Know About 'TikTok' Bill Moving Through Congress
On March 13th, 2024, the United States House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the TikTok Bill, which caused quite a bit of panic among social media users under the impression that TikTok has effectively been banned in the United States.
That is not the case.
While TikTok is not banned as a result of the controversial bill, it's definitely in danger. Here's what you need to know about the "TikTok bill" moving through the United States government right now.
What Is The "TikTok Bill"?
The so-called "TikTok" bill is formally known as the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act." What it is actually demanding is that ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, must divest ownership from the app lest it face a ban in the United States. Should the bill be signed into law, the company will have six months to sell TikTok.
How Has Congress Responded To the Bill?
The bill was introduced by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher on March 5th. Joe Biden signaled he would sign the bill should it pass the House. It had an extraordinarily brief time between when it was introduced and when it was taken to the floor, perhaps due in part to the overwhelming support it received within the House. There, it passed 352-65.
While it received widespread bipartisan support, it faced notable opposition from the far-left and far-right. Among those who opposed the bill were "squad" members like Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who characterized the bill as a means to silence the free speech of young people and minorities on the app. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene also opposed the bill, perhaps due in part to the opposition of former President Donald Trump.
Curiously, during his time as President, Trump signed an executive order demanding ByteDance sell TikTok to an American company. The deal never happened, and now Trump believes that the real social media villain is Meta, and TikTok stands in the way of that company monopolizing social media.
Currently, the "TikTok" bill is in the hands of the United States Senate, and it's up to the Senate Majority Leader to bring it to the floor. There, it faces what currently appears to be a tougher path. The AP characterized the Senate as being less willing to rush the review of the bill.
Some Senators have already laid out their takes on the bill. Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania indicated on Twitter that he would vote in favor of the bill. Republican Mike Lee of Alabama indicated he he would not.
Is TikTok Getting Banned?
The bill is making strange bedfellows in Congress, but even if it passes the Senate and Biden signs it into law, it would not immediately mean that TikTok is banned.
Again, ByteDance would get six months to sell TikTok to an American company, and even if they don't, it may be worth it to take a "wait-and-see" approach to see if the United States bans TikTok. When Trump tried to make effectively the same thing happen in 2020 through executive order, it seemed as though TikTok would be sold to the American company Oracle to keep it afloat in the United States. That never happened and Americans still enjoyed four more years of TikTok.
Myriad political and economic problems could come with banning TikTok. Critics have pointed out that Biden banning TikTok in an election year could be devastating for his youth vote turnout, which he would likely need to win in November. They have also pointed out that TikTok has been a boon for small businesses who have gone viral on the app. These factors may make the government hesitant to ban TikTok, but this purely speculation.
For the full history of the TikTok bill and previous U.S. efforts to ban TikTok, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.