House passes bill that could lead to TikTok ban. Here’s how NJ’s representatives voted
The bill, passed by a vote of 352-65, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
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The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn't sell.
The bill, passed by a vote of 352-65, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
All of New Jersey’s representatives in the House voted in favor of the bill except for Rep. Andy Kim, who declined to vote.
"There are very real security concerns about TikTok and the protection of Americans' information, but there are more steps and deliberations needed before we in Congress should take the proposed action in this legislation,” Kim wrote in a statement. “I was unable to be in DC this week but would have voted NO. I believe the [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] is best positioned to make a recommendation on the issue of divestiture and encourage them to do so quickly."
RELATED: House passes bill that would lead to a TikTok ban if Chinese owner doesn't sell
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman posted on X that the bill “is not a ban on TikTok.”
“You can still use TikTok and I want you to be able to use TikTok. This bill lets you use TikTok WITHOUT forfeiting your personal data to the Chinese government,” Watson Coleman posted.
[twitter] https://twitter.com/RepBonnie/status/1767949322711113809 [/twitter]
TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
The lawmakers contend that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. any time it wants. The worry stems from a set of Chinese national security laws that compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.
