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TikTok: Congress introducing bill to crack down on the social media app
Lawmakers are introducing a bipartisan bill to crack down on the Chinese social media giant. This comes as the White House is concerned about national security risks.
WASHINGTON (FOX 9) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to ban a popular social media platform, citing concerns about privacy and the company's Chinese ownership structure being a threat to national security.
Approved by lawmakers in a 352-65 vote, the legislation that passed the House would require the Chinese firm ByteDance to divest TikTok and other applications it owns within six months of its enactment, or its apps would be prohibited. Politicians have previously expressed concern over ByteDance being accountable to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S.
Here's how Minnesota's Congressional delegation voted:
Rep. Angie Craig
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, voted in favor of the bill. She said, "I’m not interested in banning TikTok, just protecting our national security by making the Chinese Communist Party give up their ownership in it."
Rep. Tom Emmer
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, voted for the bill.
Rep. Brad Finstad
Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota, voted for the bill.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach
Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minnesota, voted for the bill. She said, "Through this app, the Chinese government has the ability to access the data of millions of U.S. users as well as influence what content they are exposed to. It is time for the federal government to step in and protect Americans from this threat."
Rep. Betty McCollum
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, voted for the bill. She said, "TikTok is tracking users’ location information, online activity, and interactions — even when the app isn’t open. We don’t know the full extent about how users’ data is being used."
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, voted against the bill.
Rep. Dean Phillips
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota, voted against the bill.
Rep. Pete Stauber
Rep. Pete Stauber, D-Minnesota, voted for the bill.
What's next for the bill
Originating primarily as a platform to share the latest trends and dances, the video-sharing app has roughly 170 million users in the U.S., and has since emerged as an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.
President Joe Biden's 2024 campaign officially joined TikTok last month despite previously expressing national security concerns over the platform.
Following the vote, the Senate now also needs to pass the measure for it to be signed into law by Biden.
Biden has previously said that if Congress passes the measure, he would sign it.
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