The banning of TikTok in the US is no surprise to anyone, it was a long time coming. Concerns about privacy rights with TikTok and data sharing with the Chinese government are nothing new and somewhat rightly justified.
That is why long before this bill was passed many states in the US banned government employees from installing TikTok in their government-provided smart devices and an all-out ban on TikTok has long been discussed for a long time with many supporting such a move and now it is finally here.
The bill was passed in a GOP lead house and 352 members of Congress voted for the bill, while 65 voted against it. These 65 members included 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans and the bill was passed just when Donald Trump changed his stance on the ban and opposed it. (Fung, 2024)
While the bill has passed the Congress floor it still has to go through the Senate before the President gets to sign it into law. With 170 million TikTok users in the US, there is an aura of uncertainty surrounding their future, particularly for those who use it as an earning platform.
But there is still hope for TikTok users in the US as TikTok in the US has been given an ultimatum of 180 days to sever ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance or else face a permanent ban.
References
Fung, A. R. (2024, March 13). House passes bill that could lead to US ban of TikTok. Retrieved from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/tiktok-ban-bill-house-vote-03-13-24/index.html