Why US lawmakers need to ban TikTookay – DW – 03/13/2024 | EUROtoday

For the second time in 4 years, the favored Chinese shortform video app TikTookay is within the crosshairs of lawmakers within the United States.

Ahead of the 2020 US presidential election, Donald Trump signed an government order forcing proprietor ByteDance to promote the app inside 90 days, nevertheless it failed after authorized challenges.

Lawmakers are as soon as once more in search of to pressure the sale of TikTookay, threatening a nationwide ban of the app in any other case.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted 352-65 to pressure ByteDance to divest of the app inside six months or see it barred from the Apple and Google app shops within the United States.

The invoice now wants Senate approval to turn out to be regulation.

US President Joe Biden has vowed to signal it if it passes Congress.

Why does the US need to ban TikTookay?

Since it was launched in 2016, TikTookay has grown to be a massively well-liked app, with about 170 million customers within the US.

American customers spend a substantial period of time on TikTookay — on common 60-to-80 minutes per day, versus about 30-40 minutes on predominant rival Instagram, in accordance with third-party information.

Intelligence chiefs have warned that TikTookay has turn out to be a device of the Chinese authorities, one which may very well be used to undermine US democracy.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned this week that China’s propaganda arm reportedly focused Democrat and Republican candidates forward of the US midterm elections in 2022 and brokers concern the app may very well be used to subvert the presidential election in November.

Under China’se nationwide safety legal guidelines, the federal government has the facility to pressure TikTookay proprietor ByteDance to offer entry to US consumer information at any time if required for intelligence gathering.

TikTookay has repeatedly stated it has by no means shared US consumer information with Chinese authorities and won’t achieve this if requested sooner or later.

The US invoice additionally provides the president the facility to designate different apps as nationwide safety threats if below the management of a rustic thought-about adversarial to the United States.

Do the plans have large assist?

The vote handed overwhelmingly within the House of Representatives — a uncommon second of bipartisanship in politically divided Washington.

“[The TikTok ban] is one of those rare topics that gets bipartisan support — it’s basically a ‘tough on China’ policy,'” Gene Munster, a managing associate of Deepwater Asset Management, advised YouTube followers on Tuesday.

But its destiny within the Senate is much from sure, as some lawmakers are loath to ban such a massively well-liked app throughout an election 12 months.

White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan stated this week that the objective is ending Chinese possession — not banning the app. “Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok — children’s data, adults’ data -— to be staying here in America or going to China?,” Sullivan stated.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned in an announcement that the ban “would violate the First Amendment rights of hundreds of millions of Americans who use the app to communicate and express themselves daily.”

“We’re deeply disappointed that our leaders are once again attempting to trade our First Amendment rights for cheap political points during an election year,” stated Jenna Leventoff, senior coverage counsel on the ACLU.

TikTookay customers obtained notifications via the app encouraging them to contact their native representatives to protest in opposition to the potential ban, which spurred a flurry of complaints.

The new powers prompted some expertise analysts to label the invoice a “Trojan horse” as it can enable lawmakers to close down international web sites in addition to apps.

Others imagine that the measure dangers alienating younger US voters, who’re extra possible to make use of TikTookay.

The measure is additional difficult as Donald Trump has U-turned on his place. While he nonetheless thinks TikTookay poses a nationwide safety threat, he warned {that a} ban would profit rival Facebook, which he partly blames for his 2020 election loss.

How would ByteDance, China reply to a ban?

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that, if the invoice passes, ByteDance has vowed to exhaust all authorized challenges earlier than it considers promoting the app. The enterprise publication cited individuals acquainted with the matter as saying that divestment was deemed to be a final resort for the agency.

“This latest legislation, being rushed through at unprecedented speed, without even the benefit of a public hearing, poses serious Constitutional concerns,” Michael Beckerman, TikTookay’s vice chairman for public coverage, wrote in a letter to the invoice’s co-sponsors.

China’s authorities warned Wednesday {that a} ban would “inevitably come back to bite the United States,” with out giving any additional particulars.

“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated.

“This kind of bullying behavior that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” he added.

During the US-China commerce struggle, Beijing has typically responded to curbs positioned by Washington with tit-for-tat measures.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler