(Yicai) March 8 -- A US House committee has approved a bill that could force TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the hugely popular short video app within six months or see it banned in the United States on alleged national security grounds.

The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce yesterday voted 50-0 to approve the bipartisan Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

If the proposed bill becomes law, it would enable the US president to designate certain social media apps controlled by foreign adversaries as national security risks. Foreign adversaries would not be allowed to own more than 20 percent of the app operators. The bill specifically mentions TikTok, requiring Beijing-based ByteDance to divest it within 165 days or face a ban.

A ban would be total, as TikTok would be removed from app stores, could no longer enjoy web hosting services, and ByteDance could not do businesses with other US companies.

“This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” said Alex Haurek, a TikTok spokesperson. “This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.” 

The American Civil Liberties Union also opposes the bill on the grounds of freedom of speech. “It would violate the First Amendment rights of hundreds of millions of Americans who use the app to communicate and express themselves daily,” the non-profit organization said.

Before the panel voted on the bill, TikTok urged its users in the US to oppose it. “Stop a TikTok shutdown,” greeted users when they opened the app. The pop-up went on to say: “Let Congress know what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote NO.” A button below the message enabled users to call their local member of the US House of Representatives. 

Though that call to arms had no discernible effect, there is still a long way to go before the bill potentially becomes law. The legislation will need to be reviewed and approved by the House and Senate before reaching the president’s desk for signing.

Editor: Emmi Laine