Bipartisan legislation set to ban TikTok in US amid security concerns

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, has proposed legislation that would require ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to divest control of the platform within 165 days to avoid a ban on its distribution in the US app stores.

This move, driven by security concerns, could impact the US election as President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has recently started using TikTok to engage with young voters. The bill also aims to enable the president to take action against other social media applications controlled by entities from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. 

Despite TikTok’s claims of protecting user data and content, concerns about its ties to the Chinese government led to bipartisan support for the proposed legislation.