Saturday April 20, the American House of Representatives therefore voted in favor of an envelope of 95 billion dollars: 60 billion for kyiv, 16 for Israel, 9 billion to finance humanitarian aid, particularly in Gaza, and a third component intended for the Indo-Pacific region. Elected officials also voted in favor of a law forcing the Chinese group ByteDance to sell the very popular social network TikTok or see it outright banned in the United States.
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Three hundred and sixty votes for, 58 votes against. Like Texas Republican Representative Michael McCaul, the chamber considered that TikTok represented a danger to national security. “ This app is like a spy balloon inside American phones, a Trojan horse of the Chinese Communist Party “, he proclaimed.
Our adversaries are working together to undermine western values & demean our democracy. Evil is on the market. History is calling and it is time to act.
Today, I spoke on the House floor to urge the passing of my bill the “21st Century Peace Through Strength Act.”
More below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/PSczF6dCM8
— Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul) April 20, 2024
An early version of the bill gave ByteDance just six months to divest from TikTok, but the House ultimately gave it double the time to do so. ByteDance has not remained idle and is mobilizing its 170 million American users on social networks and in television campaigns.
“ I would never have found success without TikTok », Says an influencer. “ TikTok has made me a better teacher. It is a source of support for mothers “, said another. “ Think about the 5 million small business owners who rely on TikTok to feed their families », Explains yet another. ByteDance assures that TikTok contributes to the economy to the tune of $24 billion per year.
Read alsoTikTok soon to be banned in the United States? What you need to know about the project that threatens the Chinese platform
Banning TikTok would ‘violate freedom of expression’
But the law has every chance of passing the Senate next Tuesday, April 23, especially since, unlike the elected representatives of the House of Representatives, the senators will vote on all shutters in a single vote: support for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and on TikTok. As for Joe Biden, he has already said that he would ratify the text.
TikTok has been in the crosshairs of American authorities for several months, with many officials believing that the short and entertaining video platform allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate its millions of users in the United States.
Ban TikTok « would violate freedom of expression » of 170 million Americans, the popular social network protested on Saturday. In an email to AFP, a spokesperson for the platform adds that the proposed ban law “ would devastate 7 million businesses and shut down a platform that contributes $24 billion a year to the U.S. economy. »