The Attitude Of The US House Of Representatives On The Bill On The Prohibition Of TikTok Begins To Break Up

Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Steve Scallise (left) and US House Speaker Mike Johnson (photo: x @SpeakerJohnson ·)

JAKARTA - The US House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill on Wednesday, March 13 which will give Chinese TikTok owners, ByteDance, about six months to release their holdings on short video apps used by about 170 million Americans or face bans.

The voice was carried out at around 10 am under the fast lane rules which required the support of two-thirds of DPR members to pass the bill.

This vote was carried out just days after the bill was proposed and after one public hearing with a little debate. The House of Representatives' Energy and Trade Committee last week voted 50-0 in favor of the bill, setting it up for a vote before the DPR was full.

The FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence held a classification briefing for members of the DPR on Tuesday, March 12.

"We have answered many questions from members. We conducted a classification briefing today. So members can see more details about what is at stake and how CCP (Chinese Communist Party) can jeopardize risks for American families," said the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Steve Scallise.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday on a visit previously scheduled to talk to senators, according to sources familiar with the matter.

"This legislation has predetermined results: a total ban on TikTok in the United States," the company said. "The government is trying to revoke 170 million constitutional rights of Americans to express freely."

Some opponents of the legislation, including Democratic Party House of Representatives Maxwell Frost, thought the bill would be approved in the House of Representatives. Frost said that many members of the House of Representatives would vote for the bill driven by the desire to protect users, which it supports.

"Right now the problem is the process, that this is done in a hurry and people really can't feel the consequences," Frost said. "I want to see TikTok's ownership change, but not at the expense of the right to free speech, business owners and our content creators."

The legislative fate is uncertain in the US Senate, where some senators want to take a different approach.

US President Joe Biden said last week that he would sign the bill.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that his goal was to end China's ownership - not ban TikTok. "Do we want TikTok, as a platform, owned by American companies or owned by China? Do we want data from TikTok - children's data, adult data - to stay in America or go to China?"

It's unclear whether China will approve any sale or whether TikTok can be sold within six months.

The bill will give ByteDance 165 days to release TikTok. If you fail to do so, app stores operated by Apple, Google, and others are not valid to offer TikTok or provide web hosting services for apps controlled by ByteDance.

In 2020, former President Donald Trump tried to ban China's TikTok and WeChat but were blocked by the courts. In recent days, he has expressed concern about the ban.