US TikTok Ban Bill Would 'Trample' On Free Speech Rights Of 170M Americans, Says Social Media Giant

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok, raising concerns about free speech. The popular social media app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has been given a year to sell its stake or face the ban.

What Happened: TikTok reiterated its concerns about the potential infringement on the free speech rights of American users, Reuters reported on Monday.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a statement.

In February, TikTok had expressed similar concerns about the original bill, which eventually stalled in the Senate. The company also contested a state ban in Montana last year, claiming it violated the First Amendment.

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The American Civil Liberties Union has also opposed the House bill on free speech grounds. Meanwhile, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University argued that the bill offers “no real pay-off” as China and other U.S. rivals could still purchase Americans’ data from brokers and use US-based social media platforms for disinformation campaigns.

Some Democrats have also voiced concerns about free speech and have called for stronger data privacy legislation instead of a ban.

Why It Matters: The House bill was part of a larger package aimed at providing aid and bolstering national security measures in support of Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The bill’s passage could significantly impact TikTok’s future in the U.S.

Despite TikTok’s efforts to allay national security concerns, the company has failed to convince the U.S. government's interagency panel conducting a security review of the app and lawmakers in Washington.

Moreover, notable figures such as Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, have voiced their support for a ban on TikTok, citing concerns about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on American society.

Adding to the company’s woes, TikTok has decided to remove a key executive, Erich Andersen, who has been leading discussions with the U.S. government to demonstrate that the app is taking adequate measures to prevent China from accessing U.S. users' data or influencing their feeds. Despite these efforts, the company has failed to convince the U.S. government's interagency panel conducting a security review of the app and lawmakers in Washington.

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