The US Government has voted to ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell

Well, this is wild. The US House of Representatives voted today (March 13) 352 to 65 to pass a bill requiring Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok, an app used by 170 million Americans. ByteDance has six months to sell or TikTok will be banned from being used in the United States. This was a bipartisan effort, too.

What’s America’s problem with TikTok? Security concerns, mainly. Given China’s reputation for spying and data collection, America believes it can’t be too careful, especially with a pipeline that goes directly to and from so many young people. The app is already banned from government devices.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican chair of the committee that drafted the bill officially titled “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” said this: “Foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party pose the greatest national threat of our time. TikTok’s access to 170 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit.”

Democrat Frank Pollone, concerned about the Chinese government’s heavy hand when it comes to data, said this: “This means that the CCP has the ability to compromise device security, maliciously access American’s data, promote pro-communist propaganda and undermine our nation’s interests.”

China has to be annoyed. TikTok is not happy, obviously. And neither are all the influencers who have making money from TikTok. Nor are musicians and other artists who use TikTok for promotion. And let’s not get started on all the people addicted to flipping through videos for hours a day.

This is not a done deal yet. The Senate needs to pass the bill, which is not assured. But if the bill ever gets to Joe Biden’s desk, he’s said that he will sign it.

But if this does become law, then app stores will not be able to legally offer TikTok. And no one will be allowed to provide web hosting services to the company–or any app owned by ByteDance.

As for Canada, there are no plans on the books to do anything–at least not yet. Meanwhile, TikTok is the fastest-growing but least-trusted social media app in the country.

More at Global News.