TikTok has had a rocky journey in politics so far. On the one hand, it’s been an integral campaign tool, with Biden inviting creators to summits at the White House and even making a TikTok account of his own. But on the other hand, the app’s association with China, founded by Beijing-based ByteDance, has led politicians to make multiple threats to ban it.
Legislators have already banned TikTok from use on various state and federal Government devices. And on March 7, a Congress panel voted unanimously to advance legislation against ByteDance.
The bill would require the company to sell its ownership of TikTok to a US buyer within 165 days or face a countrywide ban. The next step is for the House to take a full vote on the bill in the coming weeks.
When asked by AP reporters on March 8, Biden made his position on TikTok clear.
“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” he said.
Meanwhile, unlike Biden, Donald Trump defended TikTok on March 11. The former President and 2024 nominee also dubbed Meta an ‘enemy of the people.’ A pretty remarkable U-turn for the man who called for TikTok’s ban in August 2020.
When asked about his U-turn by NBC, Trump said, “I should have said, you guys decide. You make that decision because there are a lot of people who talk that love it,” he said. “There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it. There are a lot of users.”
All eyes will be on the House of Representatives to see where this purported TikTok ‘ban’ will go next.
