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House of Representatives in vote to ban TikTok

The US House of Representatives has this afternoon (13 March) passed a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok, in a rare piece of bipartisan legislation.

For procedural reasons, the bill needs two-thirds approval rather than a simple majority.

It could lead to TikTok being removed from all US app stores unless the Chinese tech giant ByteDance sells its stake in the platform.

The bill's future in the Senate is less clear, as many lawmakers have said they are still evaluating it.

President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill.

Former President Donald Trump had initially supported banning TikTok but reversed support in recent days. He initially tried unsuccessfully to ban the app when he was in the White House in 2020.

But Trump has now criticised the new bill, saying limiting TikTok would unfairly benefit Facebook.

Influencers

The bill has faced criticism from influencers and other content creators who have said the ban would destroy their businesses.

Banning an app that is popular with young people in an election year could create political problems, some lawmakers fear.

The move will require the Chinese tech giant ByteDance to sell its stake in the app within six months or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting platforms.

The move follows previous efforts by American authorities to limit access to the app, citing national security risks, because of the mammoth amounts of user data involved.

Lawmakers say TikTok's owner ByteDance has links with the Chinese Communist Party which is denied by both ByteDance and TikTok.