Bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. moves forward

TAMPA, Fla. - Federal legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. moved forward Thursday, as the social media pushed back with messaging directed at its account holders.

The bill doesn't specifically target TikTok, but it would strictly regulate social media platforms that are controlled by "foreign adversaries." This would prohibit TikTok from U.S. app stores if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, doesn't divest its stake in the platform.

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"It is not a ban Tik Tok, it is not a ban," said U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Ocala, who joined a bipartisan news conference Thursday. "For anyone who is confused about the long-term goal about foreign adversaries utilizing apps in America, it is so in this case, specifically, China is looking to build a language model for their AI platforms to be able to use it to dictate U.S. policy. Everything that we have seen up to this point has been a beta test. That is not a conspiracy theory. The data, it speaks for itself. 

TikTok pushed back with a push notification urging users to ‘Stop a TikTok shutdown.’ The message claimed Congress is planning a total ban on TikTok. The message went on to say, ‘Speak up now--before your government strips 170 million Americans of the Constitutional right to free expression.’

The message also allowed people to contact their congressional representatives with the push of a button.

But supporters of the legislation said TikTok is manipulating the truth.

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"The clear and present danger and the primary concern comes from ByteDance's ownership of TikTok right now," said U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, who co-sponsored the bill.

FOX Business noted the bill would be enforced against tech organizations that operate app stores or provide web hosting services rather than individual users of apps like TikTok.

The legislation still has to clear several hurdles, and it's unclear whether a version would pass the U.S. Senate before landing on President Biden's desk.