Former US President Donald Trump supports TikTok remaining available in the country because he really doesn’t like Facebook, arguing that if TikTok sees a nationwide ban, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would come out on top.Trump claims banning TikTok would “double” Facebook and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s business and calls Zuckerberg a derogatory name in a Truth Social post published last night during President Biden’s State of the Union speech. The former president doesn’t want Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, to make gains as a result of a possible TikTok ban and called Facebook an “enemy of the people.”This week, US lawmakers proposed a bipartisan bill that, if passed into law, would force TikTok to “break up” with China or face a national ban. Officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the bill would ban any apps owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, and give the president power to add any other apps to a ban list if they’re being operated or owned by a US adversary.The US House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the bill Thursday, meaning it will move forward toward becoming law. Many Republicans have voiced their support for the bill, claiming TikTok is sharing US user data with China and allegedly spreading “dangerous propaganda.” It’s unclear whether Trump’s views might change some Republicans’ minds, however.White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week that Biden’s administration sees the bill as “important,” “welcome,” and a matter of “national security,” NPR reports.TikTok previously denied claims that it’s shared US data with China. In response to the bill, it launched an in-app pop-up campaign urging US users to oppose the measure and call their lawmakers. Officials have reportedly been overwhelmed with calls from worried TikTok users, with many of them seemingly teenagers or children between 10 and 12 years old. Considering minors aren’t eligible voters, though, it’s unclear how the barrage of calls might impact lawmakers’ decisions.
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To get the US to reject the bill, TikTok is trying to cite the American Constitution, claiming the bill is an “outright ban” that would “trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans.” But the White House doesn’t see it as an outright ban. If TikTok severed its ByteDance ties, it would be able to remain in the country if the bill becomes law. TikTok would have to separate from its parent company within six months to remain available in the US. The US House of Representatives will vote on the bill next week.
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