House passes bill saying ByteDance must sell or spin off TikTok or face a ban

The US House of Representatives has passed a combination bill related to sanctions on other countries, such as Russia that includes language that could force the sale or divestiture of TikTok.

Logo of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance
Legislators have framed the measure in such a way as to downplay concerns about a ban on the popular social service. Instead, the move aims to force Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself from TikTok, or sell it to another entity.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said the bill was "not really about TikTok, it's about ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok and is indisputably controlled by the Chinese Communist Party." ByteDance has repeatedly disputed that claim.

A previous measure along the same lines was passed last year. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have also proposed various measures to put pressure on ByteDance to sell the social media service.


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