New bill seeks to ban TikTok and other Chinese apps in the US; to understand

The USA will once again discuss banning the social network TikTok. The country’s House of Representatives this Tuesday (5) approved a new bill that could ban this and other practices in the region.

The project is called “Protecting Americans from Practices Controlled by the Hostile Alien Act.” It was introduced by Democratic and Republican congressmen. The text does not yet have a date to be discussed, but it is a new step in the attempt to regulate the service in the country.

According to the bill, the purpose is to protect “the national security of the United States” from the threat of “applications such as TikTok (…) and other applications or services developed or provided by ByteDance.”

Also mentioned is possible Apps operated by companies in China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, or where a company from those countries has 20% or more control. The idea is to ban them from being made available for download from app stores in the country, such as the App Store and Google Play Store.

TikTok almost banned in the US

If the project becomes law imposes fines of $5,000 per user for apps violating the ban – TikTok alone has 150 million users in the United States, which Developer ByteDance to be fined US$750 billion.

The argument of the politicians presenting the project is that TikTok A threat to Americans’ privacy, besides being Allegation of being an intermediary of the Chinese government due to espionage, data theft and political propaganda.

This isn’t the first time the TikTok ban has been discussed nationally in the US. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump made it a promise to ban the app during his term.

TikTok even negotiated with local companies like Oracle and even Microsoft for the sale of its North American operations, but it wasn’t necessary. In 2020, the country lifted the ban.

However, in the last few years the situation has become politically tense again. TikTok has been banned on official mobile phones by Congress, and North American states have begun taking action to ban the app on a regional level.

What ByteDance said

In a statement posted on social network X (formerly Twitter), ByteDance lamented the proposal’s progress among US parliamentarians. He also accuses the project of being a threat to freedom of expression.

Our statement on the latest TikTok legislation: This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how hard the authors try to disguise it. This legislation would trample on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform to own…

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) March 5, 2024

“This bill is a complete ban on TikTok, no matter how hard the authors try to hide it. This bill It will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and disenfranchise 5 million small businesses a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs,” the company says.