The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that puts the future of the popular social media app TikTok in jeopardy within the United States. Concerns about national security have been brought up related to the ownership of TikTok by a Chinese company, ByteDance. 

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act received 352 affirmative votes and 64 dissenting votes in a barely GOP controlled House. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI), author of the bill, said, “What we’ve tried to do here is be very thoughtful and deliberate about the need to force a divestiture of TikTok without granting any authority to the executive branch to regulate content or go after any American company.”

If the bill were to pass the Senate, TikTok would be given 5 months to separate from the Chinese-based company, or else American app stores would be prohibited from allowing the app to be obtained from their platforms. There remains uncertainty what would happen to the app on users’ phones that already have the app downloaded, should ByteDance not offload their company to an American buyer. 

One of the demographic groups that this bill will affect the most is college students. TikTok is wildly popular with the younger generation and has become a main form of communication. Additionally, outside of politics, the social media platform has become a tool used by companies to effectively advertise to college students. 

“I think that regulating media, especially online media that our children have access to is important; however, there is a line of personal responsibility for parents regarding their children’s screen time. I find the prioritization of a tik tok ban over way more prominent issues (inflation, abortion, firearm regulation, literal war in Gaza/Ukraine) to be an absolutely ridiculous disconnect between what the American people need and what it’s government chooses to address,” said Jill Dorazio, a senior politics and history major.

Fellow senior politics major James Maloney spoke candidly about the possible outcomes of the ban. “I understand that this is a concern over national security. We’ll have to see what the senate does with it but I think the chances of it passing are pretty good. Even if it’s signed, people will have 6 months to use the app. On another note you can look at other apps vine, musically ect. When one app dies another will soon take its place and tik tok is no exception. If it’s banned it’ll probably help with my procrastination problems… so it’s give and take,” he said.

TikTok has boomed in recent years as one of the most used social media platforms in the world. There are currently over 2,000 million TikTok users worldwide and roughly 150 million American users. The abbreviated and quick-handed nature of the platform’s content has captured the attention of audiences. President Biden has begun using the platform as a campaign tool to attract younger voters, despite the government’s banning of the app on government devices in the name of national security. 

Some students think that even though TikTok does pose certain problems to young users, they still do not believe in a federal ban. Junior Business major and President of the Women in Business Club Grace Bolinsky said, “ I do not think it should be banned in the US because as a Business major, I have to think about the positive side of social media and how TikTok is an essential advertising media for many businesses nowadays, and also has created jobs for influencers, who work full time on TikTok.” 

Bolinsky, however, has stopped using the app for recreational purposes, saying, “I felt it was showing me a bizarre theme of videos and I felt getting rid of the app would help me focus on other things.” Bolinsky cites Instagram reels as an alternative platform she uses to see similar content. 

One major hurdle the bill faces in the Senate is public opinion swaying in favor of the Chinese owned app. In an election year, many candidates up for reelection are afraid to support such a controversial bill that could affect their ability to win another term. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has refused to comment on when the Senate will take this up for a floor vote. 

Issues of the law’s constitutionality have also been brought to question, mostly by Democrats who claim issues of this nature have never been addressed before by the American legislature and more time needs to be spent deliberating on the facts and lawfulness of the case. Spokespeople for TikTok have said that even if the bill were to pass the Senate, the decision would be appealed and fought to the Supreme Court, in all likelihood after the 2024 election. 

The future of the bill remains up in the air, as the Senate remains uncommital to a time frame for an official floor vote. TikTok has been outspoken on their opposition to the bill and have the support of many users both in the United States and around the world.