U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed the bill seeking to ban TikTok in the U.S., saying that if Congress passed the bill, "I'll sign it," the Associated Press reported.
The bill, also known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, seeks to ban ByteDance and all affiliated apps "controlled by foreign adversary companies" from the U.S.
Biden's support for the bill came after his re-election campaign joined TikTok ahead of the 2024 U.S. Elections in November.
As of press time, Federal officials are still banned from using the app over the government's claim that China has been accessing Americans' data through the platform.
Washington warned TikTok to urge its parent company to divest from the app or face the ban. If passed, the legislation will give ByteDance only 165 days to relieve its hold on TikTok.
The bill already passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously and is set to undergo a full House panel hearing this week.
Trump Opposes Biden Admin's TikTok Ban
Impeached President Donald Trump, who was known for his economic war against China, declared opposition to the current administration's move to ban the video-sharing app.
Trump is currently the biggest rival of the Biden team in their bid for a second term in the presidency. Both sides have been reported multiple times for hurling criticisms at each other.
It is worth noting that Trump had also called for a ban on TikTok and the China-based messaging app WeChat during his presidency.
TikTok Users in Protest vs. Looming U.S. Ban
TikTok has earlier opposed the looming ban of the app in the U.S., claiming that the "government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression."
Our statement on today's Committee vote: "This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of…
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) March 7, 2024
Previous proposed legislation failed to impose a direct ban on TikTok for violating the First Amendment of free speech.
According to Reuters, the Justice Department advised the House committee that a divesture bill would put the government in a stronger legal position than to outright ban the app.
Several users have also defended the government's crackdown on the video-sharing platform, claiming it as a way to gain control of what people see online rather than a fight to protect Americans' data.
TikTok has been reported multiple times for hosting more posts criticizing the government than any other social media platform, particularly the Biden administration and its support of Israel's genocide of Palestinians.
Related Article : What Happens if TikTok Was Banned in the U.S.?
