In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives has passed the TikTok ban bill that would force Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell the company or be banned from the US. This is despite a massive effort by the platform to have its influencers and their followers try and pressure both Democrats and Republicans to vote no on the measure.

It was an overwhelming yes vote to ban the platform, with 352 House lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, approving of the TikTok ban bill, while 65 voted np. Of those who voted no, 50 were Democrats who found themselves agreeing with 15 Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik.

The TikTok ban bill would prohibit TikTok from US app stores should it be passed. However, should Chinese-owned ByteDance sell the platform, the app gets to stay in the US. ByteDance has around five months to divest TikTok and should it not sell the platform in time, it would be illegal for app store operators to make it available for download.

As CNN pointed out, the bill is going to the Senate next. Should it pass the US Senate, it would then go to President Joe Biden to sign the bill into law. While Biden has already stated he would sign the bill should it arrive at his table, Senators are a bit more divided on the issue.

While many Democrats in the House supported the bill to ban TikTok, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is still uncommitted and said that the chamber will review the legislation. Meanwhile, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and the panel's top Republican, Marco Rubio of Florida, are supporting the ban.

However, should ByteDance divest the company, it might find it hard to find a buyer that US competition regulators could accept as such a sale has potential antitrust issues.

TikTok Creators Say They Are Frustrated But Energized With Ban Bill Passing the House

TikTok has roughly 170 million users in the United States, and the platform was not shy about informing those users about the ban bill, with users with millions of followers, as well as those who just watch videos, joining the call to defend the platform. House representatives have found their phones flooded by users not to ban the platform.

One of those popular creators who do not want the platform banned is V Spehar, the TikTok creator behind UnderTheDeskNews. He is one of many popular creators who traveled to Washington DC to try to lobby Congress.

He spoke to TechCrunch and stated, "People are energized to fight this, and are smart, and don't appreciate being belittled. It's really sad to know that half of America is being told to shut up by our elected officials."

TikTok Influencers Flooded Congressional Offices With Calls Ahead of the Vote

However, with many TikTokers facing a threat to their livelihoods, many panicked users took to their phones and called their respective Congressmen. One Republican congressional staffer spoke with the BBC and revealed that the calls range from teenagers to the elderly, and most are "really confused and are calling because 'TikTok told me to."

Meanwhile, one Democratic staffer admitted that "the most aggressive and threatening calls their office received came from adult women."

However, it was noted that these aggressive calls from the platform's users may have backfired as this mobilization of users is coming out as further proof that the Chinese-owned company can, in fact, influence Americans if they want to.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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