A bill to ban TikTok unless it is sold, Passed It passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday and is now on its way to the Senate. The bill rushed through Congress named TikTok directly, but it also banned other apps the president identified as “national security threats.” Technology lawyers worry the vague terms could lead to other apps and websites being banned as well.
“Nobody really knows who is covered by this bill,” Santa Clara University internet law professor Eric Goldman said in a phone interview with Gizmodo. “We’re focusing on the TikTok part because that’s obviously what was targeted first. But the impact of this law is uncertain because we don’t even know who we’re talking about.”
In addition to banning TikTok, this bill Nothing is clear. An app or website must meet two conditions to be banned. First, the app must be a large platform that allows users to create profiles for sharing content. For example, this includes Gizmodo’s website, where users can log in to post comments. Second, you must also be “under the control of a foreign adversary,” which could include apps that are solely “directed or controlled” by someone in Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran.
Goldman Sachs said the bill does not take into account how many apps and websites fall under it. He was joined by 65 House members who voted against the bill, many of whom said it failed to take into account free speech or claimed it was too rushed – the bill lasted only four days in the House. Goldman Sachs called the bill a “performance stunt” designed to send a signal to voters about China.
You can make the case that many apps fall within the scope of the TikTok ban.russian agent Using Facebook groups to influence voters in the 2016 election.Just a few months ago, about Elon Musk’s X, the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas spreads misinformation when paying for promotional services and blue check mark. Would Facebook and X be “directed or controlled by Russia and Iran” as defined in the TikTok Act?
“There’s plenty of room here to creatively interpret how someone could call the shots abroad and not be the owner,” said Evan Brown, a Chicago attorney who focuses on technology. “The president does have unrestricted authority to place another application on this list.”
The TikTok bill could ban apps with no more than 1 million monthly users, which is roughly the size of smaller apps like Mastodon. For reference, TikTok is about a thousand times bigger, with 1 billion monthly users. The TikTok bill covers a wide range of apps, and vague provisions classifying them as “controlled by foreign adversaries” give the president significant power.
The entire discussion of the bill has centered around TikTok, but legal experts pointed out how it would impact the U.S. app ecosystem. Currently, the president and Congress have little power to decide which apps can and cannot exist, but the TikTok bill changes that. The legislation is likely to pass Congress quickly, but the process of overturning the decision is much slower.
To be clear, TikTok has never been anyone’s darling except for its parent company ByteDance.The app rolled out a feature this past week that confirmed Congress’ concerns push notification activity and asked users to call lawmakers to oppose the bill. A Chinese foreign ministry official said the TikTok ban would “Come back and bite America,” Wednesday. There are legitimate arguments for banning TikTok, but this bill is bigger than that.
This is not the first TikTok bill we have seen, but it may be the last, and if it is written into law, we will have to live with the consequences. The key factor now is whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer puts it to a vote.Schumer said He won’t push for billsit remains to be seen whether senators will consider how the TikTok bill is about more than just TikTok.