China has cautioned that a potential prohibition of TikTok could have repercussions for the US, as legislators have passed a bill that might result in the app’s prohibition.
The House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would compel the Chinese-owned app TikTok to sever its ties with China or face removal from the US market.
US officials have consistently voiced concerns regarding TikTok, citing potential national security risks, while TikTok’s owners have repeatedly refuted claims of posing any threat.
On Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives passed a bill known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which mandates the Chinese parent company of TikTok to divest its US operations.
The bill, now on its way to the Senate, faces uncertainty regarding its passage. If approved, President Joe Biden has indicated his intention to sign it into law.
Ahead of the vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the US of “suppressing TikTok” despite the absence of evidence proving that TikTok poses a national security threat.
“This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” Mr Wang added.
“In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself.”
Chinese media also criticized the move, with several newspapers publishing satirical cartoons mocking the US attempt to ban the app.
The Global Times, in particular, accused the US of exhibiting “ugly behavior” and misusing “the concept of national security” to forcibly acquire the app.
Similar to other social media platforms, TikTok is prohibited in China. Instead, users in the country utilize a similar app called Duoyin, exclusively available within China and subject to government monitoring and censorship.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company registered in the Cayman Islands.
Should the US bill be enacted into law, ByteDance will be compelled to sell TikTok within six months or risk being banned from US app stores and web hosting platforms.
Recently, TikTok reached out to many of its American users, urging them to contact their representatives to oppose the government’s potential infringement on “170 million Americans’ Constitutional right to free speech.”
Subsequently, the House China Select Committee sent a letter to the company, instructing it to cease “spreading false claims in its campaign to manipulate and mobilize American citizens on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.”
TikTok has refuted any ties with the Chinese government and asserted that it has restructured its operations to ensure US data remains in the US.
Former President Donald Trump made unsuccessful attempts to ban the app in 2020. Presently, Trump, who has recently passed the delegate threshold to secure the Republican nomination for the presidential candidacy, opposes the ban, arguing that it would unfairly favor Facebook.