The House Foreign Affairs Committee has passed a bill allowing President Joe Biden to ban TikTok nationwide.
The committee voted 24-16 along partisan lines in favor of H.R. 1153, which is intended "to provide a clarification of non-applicability for regulation and prohibition relating to sensitive personal data under International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and for other purposes."
The measure will now advance to the full House, where its fate remains uncertain. A ban would require passage by the full House and the Senate before POTUS can sign the measure into law.
The debate on the bill, which was sponsored by Republican committee chair Michael McCaul, was opened on Tuesday, but the vote was delayed until Wednesday.
"Many Americans do not realize one of the greatest surveillance efforts from [China] has been silently gathering personal data in their pockets. TikTok is a national security threat... it is time to act," McCaul said.
The top Democrat on the committee, Gregory Meeks, strongly opposed the legislation, warning that it would "damage our allegiances across the globe, bring more companies into China's sphere, destroy jobs here in the United States and undercut core American values of free speech and free enterprise."
Previously, TikTok issued a statement, saying that it would be "unfortunate if the House Foreign Affairs Committee were to censor millions of Americans, and do so based not on actual intelligence, but on a basic misunderstanding of our corporate structure." The company, which has consistently rejected spying allegations, added that it had spent over $1.5 billion on data security efforts.
While President Biden has said that he's not sure if TikTok will be banned, the White House gave government agencies 30 days on Monday to ensure that the video-making app is not on any federal devices and systems. A number of US states, as well as Canada and EU institutions have decided to ban the use of Chinese social media application on state-owned devices, citing security concerns.