In a recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concerns regarding the ownership of popular social media app, TikTok, as confirmed by the White House.
What Happened: The issue of TikTok’s ownership was a topic of discussion during a call between Biden and Xi. The White House confirmed that Biden expressed U.S. concerns about the ownership of the app, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill that would require ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell the U.S. assets of the app within six months or face a ban. This decision was motivated by national security concerns. The Senate’s next steps, however, remain uncertain.
Why It Matters: During the same call, the two presidents also discussed the technology block and Taiwan, marking their first communication since Xi’s U.S. visit for a summit in November.
The potential TikTok ban has sparked a backlash from young voters, who are crucial to Biden’s reelection campaign. This comes as the campaign seeks to leverage the influence of the platform over young voters.
The House of Representatives’ move to potentially ban TikTok unless sold by ByteDance, suggests that China has the power to block the sale, thereby gaining leverage over Washington.
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