The US House of Representatives massively voted to approve a bill on Wednesday that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner or get banned from the United States.
The lawmakers voted 352 in favour of the proposed law and 65 against it in a rare moment of bipartisan unity in politically divided Washington.
According to CNN, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise lauded the passage of the House’s TikTok bill and downplayed concerns that going after a popular application could hurt Republicans in November.
Scalise said young people did not recognise how much of their data was at risk from the app and said the bill would give them extra layers of protection.
“This bill protects those families and young people and lets them still use the application they enjoy. So it’s a win for families across America, and it’s a long time coming,” he continued.
Scalise said he believes the overwhelming support for the legislation in the House will help ease its passage in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t committed to taking up the House’s version of the bill.
“I’ve talked to several senators; they are looking—many of them are looking towards how strong this vote is. So the fact that it’s such an overwhelming vote, both Republicans and Democrats, bodes well for this version of the bill to be quickly taken up in the Senate,” Scalise said.
An earlier statement by the Chinese government warned the US that the proposed ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok would “inevitably come back to bite” the country.
