"ByteDance, Sell TikTok" US Congress Introduces Forced Sale Bill

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to remove TikTok from app stores if the Chinese IT company ByteDance does not sell TikTok. The reason cited is that having China operate a popular American platform poses a national security risk.

According to major foreign media on the 5th (local time), the bill was introduced on a bipartisan basis by 17 lawmakers, including Republican Mike Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House China Strategic Competition Special Committee, and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi. The core of the bill requires ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to sell TikTok within 165 days in order to continue offering TikTok services on app stores. Additionally, the bill includes provisions allowing the U.S. president to impose restrictions on apps operated by foreign hostile entities.

TikTok immediately pushed back. A TikTok representative stated, "This bill tramples on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and will deprive TikTok of its growth, which has created 5 million jobs," adding, "TikTok has never shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government and will not do so in the future."

However, the prevailing view is that the bill is unlikely to be approved at least within this year, which includes the presidential election. Even President Joe Biden, who once expressed a negative stance toward TikTok, opened a TikTok account last month to support his election campaign, aiming to strengthen communication with younger generations. Analysts suggest that the interests of both parties regarding TikTok usage will likely diverge for the time being.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.