U.S. House approves TikTok ban with help from Washington state delegation

The future of the popular social media platform TikTok in the U.S. is in peril, thanks in part to support from Washington state's congressional delegation.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would require Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok, or the platform would be banned from U.S. app stores. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

About 170 million Americans use the platform, according to TikTok.

TikTok has characterized the legislation, introduced as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, as "bullying" that could affect hundreds of thousands of American jobs, including small businesses and independent creators.

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Still, the proposal won widespread support in the U.S. House, including from Washington state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The bill was approved 352 to 65.

It passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee before it went to a full vote. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane) chairs that committee, and she was integral in getting it through the House.

"Foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party pose the greatest national threat of our time. TikTok's access to 177 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit," McMorris Rodgers said on the House floor Wednesday. "Companies controlled by foreign adversaries like the CCP will never embrace American values, like the freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, and a free press. If given a choice, they will always choose the path for more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation."

All but two Washington state Congressional delegates voted to support the bill. U.S. House Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Rick Larsen voted against it.

In a statement, Jayapal said she does have concerns about "the national security implications of the Xi government's ability to access Amercians' data through ByteDance" but believes the bill was rushed.

"The bill provides an unworkable path to remove TikTok from ownership by a Chinese company, making it a de facto ban," Jayapal said. "This would harm users who rely on TikTok for their livelihoods, many of whom are people of color."

The bill's path through the Senate is uncertain, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was noncommittal on Wednesday.

U.S. Senate Democrats Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both from Washington state, have expressed a need to balance national security concerns with civil liberties.