US Congressional Committee Passes Bill to Remove TikTok from App Stores
A bipartisan bill has been approved by the House energy and commerce committee to remove TikTok from app stores unless its Chinese owner divests the platform. The bill was passed 50-0 after officials raised concerns about the app's risks due to its ownership by the Chinese group ByteDance. US security officials fear that Beijing could access personal data of the 170mn Americans using TikTok, prompting the move. The bill is expected to gain momentum in the Senate and has backing from the White House, highlighting bipartisan alignment on the issue. TikTok's lobbying efforts to oppose the bill were unsuccessful. The legislation aims to address national security issues and aims to protect American free speech. The bill would ban app stores from distributing TikTok unless ByteDance divests the app within 180 days after passage.