Should foreign-controlled social media apps be banned unless their owners divest?
Core argument: Bipartisan legislation from Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok, after which app stores would be barred from distributing the video-sharing platform.
Lawmakers have introduced legislation that would ban app stores from distributing TikTok unless ByteDance, its Chinese owner, divests control of the popular video-sharing platform. The bipartisan bill from Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House China committee, and his Democratic counterpart Raja Krishnamoorthi would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok to avoid the app from being banned. The bill would also create a process that would enable the president to take action against social media applications controlled by groups that are headquartered or domiciled in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.


