TikTok Ban: House Republicans Move Ahead With Vote Despite Donald Trump Opposition and Joe Biden Support
TikTok now faces the possibility of being ordered to be sold or else be banned from the US, with House Republicans and President Joe Biden seeing eye-to-eye on the issue. However, former President and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has voiced his opposition to the proposal.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and others have come out in force to voice their favor of a bill requiring Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a US ban. It is seen as a largely bipartisan measure, as some Democrats are also in favor of it as TikTok is largely seen as a security risk.
A Republican congressional aide spoke with the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity and stated that a vote on the measure for Wednesday is "still the plan and there has not been significant pushback to the bill from lawmakers."
"It's an important bipartisan measure to take on China, our largest geopolitical foe, which is actively undermining our economy and security," said Johnson in a statement last week. This is despite pressure from Donald Trump, who does not want the law to be passed for political reasons.
The AP noted that while Trump believes that TikTok poses a national security risk, he is opposing the ban because it would help its rival, Facebook, which he has lambasted for continuing to fact-check his 2020 election lies.
"Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it," Trump said in defense of TikTok, which has been accused of spying on Americans and targeting them with propaganda through the platform.
"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok you're going to make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media," he added. "When I look at it, I'm not looking to make Facebook double the size, I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections."
READ MORE: TikTok Algorithm Promotes Videos About Suicide, Self-Harm to Vulnerable Teens: Report
Joe Biden Says He Will Sign a TikTok Ban Should Congress Sign It
On the other hand, Donald Trump's presumptive opponent for the 2024 elections is doing the exact opposite, endorsing the proposed legislation to possibly ban the video-sharing platform from the United States. This comes amid growing concern in Washington about keeping Americans' data out of China's hands.
Biden was asked by reporters about the proposed TikTok ban, and he answered, "If they pass it, I'll sign it."
The legislation came after the US House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously called on China's ByteDance to sell the platform or face a ban on the platform. Other Republicans and Democrats soon came out to support it as well.
Americans Divided on TikTok Ban Despite Bipartisan Support
Despite Congress seemingly united on the issue of the security threat posed by TikTok, everyday Americans are actually divided, with some supporting and others opposing a possible ban.
The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted a poll on the matter and found a three-way split. Around 31% of US adults support the ban, while 35% say they would oppose it. Another 31% remained neutral.
READ MORE: TikTok Spreading Misinformation? New Report Says Their Search Engine Shows Fake News
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Biden says he'll ban TikTok if Congress passes - FOX 11 Los Angeles