Lawmakers seek to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face US ban

A bipartisan group U.S. lawmakers are introducing legislation on Tuesday that would give China's ByteDance about six months to popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban, congressional aides told reporters. Representative Mike Gallagher, the chair of the House select China committee and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat are introducing legislation joined by more than a dozen other lawmakers to address national security concerns posed by Chinese ownership of the app.

A bipartisan group U.S. lawmakers are introducing legislation on Tuesday that would give China's ByteDance about six months to popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban, congressional aides told reporters.

Representative Mike Gallagher, the chair of the House select China committee and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat are introducing legislation joined by more than a dozen other lawmakers to address national security concerns posed by Chinese ownership of the app. The bill would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok, which is used by more than 170 million Americans, or it would be unlawful for app stores operated by Apple, Google and others to offer TikTok or to provide web hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications.

The bill would give the president new powers to designate apps of concerns and face bans or restrictions absent divestiture. Concerns about Chinese-owned TikTok last year sparked efforts in Congress to boost powers to address the popular short video sharing app or potentially ban it, but those prior bills have stalled.