Amid the election climate in the United States, Chinese social media platform TikTok, known for its short, viral videos, finds itself once again in the political spotlight.
The Republican Party-controlled US House of Representatives will vote this week on a bill that would ban TikTok in the country unless the company separates itself from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which is accused of having ties to China's Communist Party ( CCP).
The measure comes in response to American concerns about national security, with allegations that the Chinese application could be used as a propaganda and espionage tool by the CCP.
According to information from CNNthe chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, of the Republican Party, expressed confidence in the approval of the project and minimized the opposition of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), highlighting that he previously supported the idea of ban the app from the US.
Trump, who has already signed an executive order to ban TikTok from the United States, surprised Republicans by expressing his opposition to banning the application this weekend, stating that it would only benefit the Facebookan American social network that is accused of persecuting conservatives and that Trump claims is an “enemy of the people”.
The law, which is expected to be put to a vote this Wednesday (13), would give ByteDance 165 days to sell TikTok or face a ban in US app stores.
Proponents of the bill have emphasized that the proposed legislation does not necessarily require the app to be sold to an American owner, it merely stipulates that ownership of the social network by a direct foreign commercial and political adversary, such as China, is unacceptable.
According to the CNN, Republican leaders, who are funding the legislation, have made efforts to try to raise awareness among deputies about the risks of TikTok in the hands of a Chinese company to US security. Reports on this topic, classifying all possible threats, would be sent to parliamentarians' offices.
As reported by CNNthe initiative aims to counter the intense campaign of lobby made by TikTok against the law.
#Chinese #propaganda #tool #parliamentarians #vote #bill #ban #Tik #Tok