Why U.S. officials want to ban TikTok
CBSApr 21
Biden Signs TikTok Divestment-or-Ban Bill
Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
US Pres. Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a bill that would ban TikTok nationwide within a year if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn't divest its stakes in the app.
The legislation, part of a foreign aid package for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, passed in the Senate on Tuesday, 79 to 18, and in the House of Representatives on Saturday, 360 to 58.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
This bill is the latest move by the US to force TikTok to be sold to a government-approved buyer as concerns about user data security and potential misinformation mount worldwide. Given that Chinese companies can be legally obliged to provide data to Beijing, TikTok is an obvious national security threat.
Establishment-critical narrative
Whether Congress censors are likely to soon sign this bill into law, the Supreme Court may eventually rule that a TikTok ban violates the First Amendment and its coerced sale violates the Fifth Amendment. Otherwise, the US government will dangerously have the power to force the sale of American companies for doing business with China.