NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Do you and your family use TikTok? The social media platform is on the chopping block.
It has been a target of lawmakers for years, and now there's new momentum on Capitol Hill to force the Chinese-linked app to make changes or risk being banned from the U.S. entirely.
Today, congress is voting to force the company to be taken over by an American company instead of a Chinese company. That vote could play a huge part in whether or not you'll be scrolling up and down that app in the near future.
As this vote is happening today, we've learned that TikTok wants to set up a new corporate location in Midtown Nashville. They've applied to move into two floors of the Moore Building.
Lawmakers will tell you that banning the social media app is NOT the goal. It's about separating TikTok from its parent company, Byte Dance, and the Chinese government.
China has national security laws that can compel businesses to turn over information or help with intelligence gathering.
In 2023, TikTok's CEO promised to put a firewall around U.S. user data but that wasn't enough. Lawmakers say the House's bill, which was unanimously approved by the Energy and Commerce committee last week, does not infringe on Americans' first amendment freedom of speech.
"People won't have to worry about manipulation of algorithms, they won't have to worry about a hostile foreign adversary potentially manipulating the news that Americans consume," said Representative Mike Gallagher.
Lawmakers say they don't want to censor any content. They emphasize this is about the manner in which the Chinese Communist Party controls the parent company of the platform, ByteDance.
The bill's future in the Senate is unclear, but if it reaches President Biden's desk the president has said he will sign it. If that happens, ByteDance would have six months to sell TikTok before a ban would go into effect. We'll keep you updated.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
