President Joe Biden signaled on Friday he would sign off on new legislation in Congress that could potentially result in the ban of TikTok.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to advance a bipartisan bill that would force Bytedance, a Chinese-based company, to sell its subsidiary app TikTok or face removal from U.S. Biden told reporters on Friday that he would greenlight the legislation if Congress can pass the bill. (RELATED: Trump Says Banning TikTok Would Help ‘Enemy’ Facebook)
“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Biden said before boarding Air Force One en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
President Biden answers numerous questions from the media, including on debating former President Trump, the State of the Union and the Middle East and…
Q: “Do you still support banning TikTok. Will you sign that bill?”
President Biden: “If they pass it, I’ll sign it.” pic.twitter.com/rLSdLvw8pM
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 8, 2024
For the legislation to make it to Biden’s desk for final approval, it must first pass in the House of Representatives and then pass in the Senate. Republican House leadership plans to move the bill to the floor of the House for a vote as soon as next Wednesday, according to Semafor.
Democratic Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell said on Thursday that she is “very concerned about foreign adversaries’ exploitation of Americans’ sensitive data,” and plans to speak with lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to “try to find a path forward that is constitutional and protects civil liberties,” according to Semafor.
“I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If this is a vehicle that’s going to really be moving in the House, I’m going to take a good, solid look at it,” Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner told Semafor.
The White House previously indicated it would support the legislation and has offered “technical assistance” in crafting it, but noted that the bill is not technically a “ban.” TikTok would only be under threat of removal if ByteDance refuses to sell it within 180 days of the legislation passing, according to Semafor. (RELATED: Children Bombard Lawmakers With Phone Calls After Plea From Chinese-Owned App)
“We don’t see this as banning these apps — that’s not what this is — but by ensuring that their ownership isn’t in the hands of those who may do us harm,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Wednesday. “This is about our national security, obviously, and this is what we’re focused on here.”
Former President Donald Trump viewed the legislation differently, warning Thursday that if TikTok ends up being banned in the U.S., “Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business.”
“I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
TikTok protested the legislation this week, insisting that it would be an “outright ban.”
“This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs,” TikTok said in a statement on Tuesday, when the bill was first unveiled.
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