The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this afternoon that would require TikTok-owner ByteDance to sell the popular social media app or see it banned in the United States.
Efforts to ban TikTok go back to the Trump Administration, but the issue has been revived in recent months.
The House already passed a similar bill in March — a bill that the Senate showed little interest in taking up.
The Senate could take up the package this coming week, and President Joe Biden has said he supports the bill and will sign it.
If that happens, TikTok is expected to challenge the bill in court.
Lawmakers passed legislation early Saturday reauthorizing and expanding a controversial U.S. surveillance law shortly after the powers expired at midnight, rejecting opposition by privacy advocates and lawmakers.
Critics, including lawmakers who voted against the reauthorization, say FISA also sweeps up the communications of Americans while spying on its foreign targets.
Following the passage in the early hours of today, Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that FISA was “indispensable” to the U.S. intelligence community.
FISA requires the government to seek an annual certification from the secretive FISA Court, which oversees and approves the government’s surveillance programs.
The FISA Court last certified the government’s surveillance program under Section 702 in early April, allowing the government to use its lapsed authority until at least April 2025.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1596 into law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in a growing list of states embracing a right to repair for citizens.
The bill’s coauthors Janeen Sollman and Representative Courtney Neron took inspiration from California’s Senate Bill 244, which passed toward the tail end of 2023.
The iPhone maker, which had previously issued an unprecedented open letter in favor of the California bill, has said that it is mostly in favor of Oregon’s bill, with the above caveat.
We entertained many of the changes that Apple brought forward that are in the California bill.
“By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the Right to Repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running.
A bill threatening to ban an app beloved by half of the American population just rocketed through the House of Representatives in a week’s time.
TikTok the company and TikTok the chaotic community of creators and their followers are rightfully freaking out right now.
TikTok successfully fought back against a state-level ban on the app in Montana last year, arguing that the law was unconstitutional.
Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, who frequently sows concern about China, registered his support for a Senate version of the TikTok bill following the vote.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, another Senate Republican hawkish on China, also expressed her support for pushing a version of the House TikTok bill through.
The House voted on Wednesday in favor of a bill to require TikTok to sever its connection with parent company ByteDance or face a ban, moving the legislation forward with surprising speed.
President Joe Biden has already said that he would support the legislation, but TikTok faces an uncertain fate as the bill heads to the Senate.
“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,” Trump said.
The bill’s quick progress out of committee last week to a full House vote appears to have caught TikTok by surprise.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew also headed to Capitol Hill to drum up opposition to the bill before Wednesday’s vote.
The Oregon House this week passed a right to repair bill by nearly a 3-to-1 margin at 42 votes to 13.
If signed into law, the northwestern state wouldn’t be the first the union to pass a right to repair bill (more like the fourth), but the legislation contains aggressive language that goes beyond those on the books.
“Apple agrees with the vast majority of Senate Bill 1596,” John Perry, Apple senior manager, Secure System Design, said in a testimony to state lawmakers last month.
“By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the Right to Repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running.
they will stand on the hill on is the parts pairing.”The bill has received bipartisan support in both the state Senate and House.
