TurkishJournal – Enes Kılıç – The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that could force TikTok and other foreign-owned apps to sell their U.S. operations or be banned in the country. The bill, known as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Enemy-Controlled Applications Act,” passed the House by a vote of 352 to 65.
The bill would designate any foreign-owned application that is deemed a “national security threat” by the U.S. government as either having to be sold to a U.S.-owned company or prohibited from operating in the United States.
TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been a particular target of scrutiny by U.S. officials in recent years. The app has been accused of being a potential security risk due to concerns that the Chinese government could access user data.
ByteDance has repeatedly denied these allegations, stating that it does not share user data with the Chinese government. However, the company has faced increasing pressure from U.S. officials to address these concerns.
The bill is now headed to the Senate for consideration. If it is passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden, it could have a significant impact on TikTok and other foreign-owned apps operating in the United States.