The US Congress gave half-penalty to the law against TikTok and the Chinese social network was on the verge of being banned

THE House of Representatives From United States of America he gave half penalty this Wednesday to a bill that could ban TikTok in the country if the social network does not cut your ties with its parent company, ByteDanceand with China generally.

A total of 352 lawmakers voted in favor of the proposal e 65 againstin a rare moment of unity between Democrats and Republicans at the height of the election campaign.

The legislative initiative is so far the the biggest threat which overlooks the video sharing application, very popular all over the world, especially among young people.

Because it has a Chinese parent company, TikTok is a concern for the White House, which it considers the platform allows Beijing to spy and manipulate to some 170 million users in the United States.

Now the project will move up Senatewhere is your destination uncertain: key figures in the Upper House They oppose the adoption of such a drastic measure against the popular application.

In any case, the president Joe Biden He has already announced that he will enact the legislation, officially known as the “Protecting Americans from Solicitations Controlled by Foreign Rivals Act,” if it passes both legislative chambers.

What can happen with TikTok in the United States

The law would require TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sell the app within 180 days to a local company or it will be excluded from the stores of the giants Apple and Google in the United States.

It would also give the president the power to designate other applications as a threat to national security if they are under the control of a country considered an adversary of the United States.

The revival of Washington’s campaign against TikTok was one surprise for the companythe newspaper reported The Wall Street Journaland TikTok executives were reassured when Biden joined the social network last month as part of his campaign to win a second term in next November’s elections.

The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chewsis in Washington to rally support to stop the bill.

“This latest legislation, passed at unprecedented speed, without even the benefit of a public hearing, raises serious constitutional concerns” Michael Beckerman, TikTok’s vice president of public policy, wrote in a letter to the bill’s co-sponsors.

The promoters of the text, both from the House of Representatives and the Republican one Michael Gallagher and the Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthias well as the White House, argue that the bill does not ban Tiktok, as long as the company dissociates itself from ByteDance.

China warned on Wednesday that the measure “would inevitably turn against the United States”.

“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens American national security, it has not stopped cracking down on it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, condemning it as a “bullying behavior”.

Donald Trump, against the ban

In a change from his previous position, former Pres Donald Trump He said on Monday that he opposes the TikTok ban, especially because it would strengthen the American group Objectivethe owner of the social networks Instagram and Facebook, who called “enemies of the people”.

When Trump was president, he tried to wrest control of Tiktok from ByteDance, but it was blocked by US courts.

Trump has denied accusations that he changed his mind because of a TikTok investor, the financier Jeff Yassis a major donor to his campaign.

Also other attempts to ban TikTok they failed: A bill proposed a year ago failed largely because of concerns that it posed a threat to free expression.