The House passed a bill Wednesday that could ban TikTok in the United States, an escalation of warnings raised by top government officials, including commerce chief Gina Raimondo, about Chinese influence on business and politics for years.
The bill, which passed overwhelmingly (362 to 65, with one representative present) in the House, would give TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, just over five months to sell the app or face an effective blacklist from US app markets. and web hosting services. Exile would be imposed by heavy sanctions. Supporters of the bill, however, argue that the bill does not necessarily amount to a ban because it gives TikTok’s parent company the ability to sell the app and continue operating in the U.S.
In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson lamented that the House bill moved forward so quickly, adding, “This process was secret and the bill was blocked for a reason: It’s a ban.”
Wednesday’s House vote was a key step toward the bill becoming law, but it still faces an uphill battle in the Senate, in part due to increased pressure from TikTok and objections from some of the 170 millions of American users of the app. Last week, Congress was inundated with calls after TikTok urged its users on the app to complain to their representatives. Some influencers and entrepreneurs who make a living from the app even protested in front of the White House.
However, senior elected officials and government members have been fighting the growth of Chinese business operations in the United States for years for one reason: the possible influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Leaders of the US intelligence community warned Congress during a hearing on Tuesday that Chinese influence could lead to myriad domestic threats, including election interference.
Asked whether TikTok could be used specifically by the Chinese government to influence US elections, US National Intelligence Director Avril Haines said: “We cannot rule out the CCP using it.” Speaking of TikTok, FBI Director Christoper Wray stressed during the congressional hearing that the app poses a threat to US citizens and could compromise their devices.
“Americans need to ask themselves whether they want to give the Chinese government the ability to control access to their data,” Wray added.
Support for banning TikTok on national security grounds has come from leaders of both major parties. Former President Donald Trump attempted to ban the app via an executive order in 2020, and in 2022 President Biden signed legislation banning the app from being downloaded on most government-owned devices.
Biden’s Commerce Secretary Raimondo has pushed for greater U.S. government oversight and control over Chinese products in the past, and in a recent interview with CNBC said she was receptive to the ban bill. TikTok, which President Biden has said he will sign if it reaches his desk.
“I think we might be able to mitigate the risks [from TikTok] if we had enough tools, but we might not,” Raimondo told CNBC. “And I think a ban is also something that needs to be considered.”
In addition to TikTok, Raimondo also expressed concern about possible espionage by China through Chinese-made electric vehicles, which she said should not be allowed in the United States “unless we have very significant controls and conditions on the software and sensors of those cars.”
Last month, the Commerce Department opened an investigation into “connected vehicles” that use technology from countries like China. These vehicles are increasingly equipped with advanced technologies that, according to the White House, could in some cases pose a threat to national security.
“New vulnerabilities and threats could arise with connected cars if a foreign government gains access to these vehicles’ systems or data,” the White House wrote.
And it’s not just electric vehicles. Government officials like the FBI’s Wray have increasingly warned that China is working to covertly deploy malware into critical US infrastructure and is not just focused on political and military objectives.
“Chinese hackers are positioning themselves on American infrastructure to prepare to wreak havoc and cause real harm to American citizens and communities if and when China decides the time has come to strike,” Wray said before the House China Committee in February .
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that a congressional investigation found communications equipment on Chinese-made cargo cranes operating in U.S. ports that were not being used in its normal operations, leading to renewed espionage concerns. The head of the Coast Guard’s Cyber Command later told Congress that officials had found security vulnerabilities in the cargo cranes but no “malware or Trojan horse-type software.” magazine reported.
Beijing officials have repeatedly denied accusations of spying by the US government, and the TikTok ban is no different.
Asked about the bill passed by the House on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that the United States has never found evidence that TikTok poses a threat to its national security.
“Such practice of resorting to hegemonic moves when one cannot succeed in fair competition disrupts the normal functioning of businesses, undermines the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, sabotages the normal economic and trade order in the world and ultimately it will backfire on the United States itself,” he said.