Editorial | Rational voices will hopefully prevail and reject the US TikTok ban bill
- The US and China should consider how the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and investors can be properly protected in the United States without raising unfair security concerns
The short-video app TikTok has about 170 million monthly active users in the United States – mostly young people – including 20 million who have joined in the past year alone.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban the app on national security grounds unless its owner ByteDance divests it within six months. But the bill must also pass the Senate, where Republican and Democratic leaders have rejected pressure to pass it quickly.
The move comes ahead of November’s presidential election, which makes it a sensitive issue for rivals President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump.
TikTok is accused of spying on Americans through collection of personal data. Amid vigorous denials by TikTok, no evidence of violation of users’ privacy has ever been provided.
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Protests at US Congress after House passes bill that could potentially ban TikTok nationwide
Biden and Trump have chequered histories with TikTok, which reflect both anti-China sentiment and electoral sensitivity among young voters. Biden’s re-election campaign organisation has reached out to them by joining TikTok.