The U.S. House has officially passed the bill to ban TikTok

Question

This Twitter (X) post reads, "The U.S. House has officially passed the bill to ban TikTok if its owner, Chinese company ByteDance, refuses to sell the platform." Is this true?

Answer 1

This is true, but the United States House of Representatives has not yet officially passed a bill to ban TikTok. In order for the bill to pass and be amended, it must go through the Senate and then eventually be signed by the President of the United States, Joe Biden. Nothing passed in the US House of Representatives is considered officially passed until a Senate vote and presidential approval. However, generally speaking, the US House of Representatives did indeed vote in favor of banning the app produced by ByteDance, the company that invented TikTok, by a vote of 352-65. ByteDance is obligated by the Chinese Communist Party.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/house-poised-pass-bill-ban-tiktok-faces-uncertain-108070083

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/tiktok-ban-bill-house-vote-03-13-24/index.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/13/tiktok-ban-bill-house-passes-00146720

Comments

This is a very thorough and detailed fact check. You did a great job in including context about the bill and the next steps for it to go into effect. I also like that you included information about ByteDance, and why many national security and government members are opposed to the company running TikTok in the U.S.

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You did a great job in analyzing this claim! The only feedback I have for you is to add a link from a source. This would make your argument stronger.

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Good job answering this with a multitude of sources, especially considering how fresh this news is. I also really like that you included work from ByteDance, though I think it could be beneficial to add a link to them as well. Great work!

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This is a very detailed fact check, and I appreciate your use of sources. There's a lot of misinformation going around right now regarding TikTok.

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This a very detailed explanation of what is happening with TikTok and you made it very apparent  that it hasn't been banned yet. You also used very reliable sources that we can trust, so good job.

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This is a great factcheck that clarifies the multiple levels of passing new legislation! I am curious though why you marked it as true? The claim is that "the U.S. House has officially passed the bill to ban TikTok" and your answer reads "the United States House of Representatives has not yet officially passed a bill to ban TikTok." I understand that your correction was about the terminology "officially passed" being used, but I feel like this qualifies as as exaggerated or misleading information.

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Nice background! I'm glad you emphasized the fact that while the bill passed in the House, there are still multiple steps it must go through to become law. I think there is a lot of exaggeration by content creators online who are fear-mongering, so this makes me feel better to see that people are factchecking this claim.

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This is a very good fact check. You present the information very clear and concisely. You make it very evident that you have done thorough research on the topics as well as including the links of where you obtained the info.

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This is an excellent factcheck the inclusion of three sources really cements this as fact.

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Your fact-checking work is insightful- It's accurate that the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill to ban TikTok, with the vote count being 352-65, as you mentioned. This step is part of the legislative process, but as you correctly pointed out, for the bill to become law, it still needs to pass through the Senate and then receive the President's signature. This highlights the checks and balances within the U.S. legislative process, ensuring that a bill is thoroughly reviewed and agreed upon by multiple branches of government before it becomes enforceable law.

Answer 2

According to NBC News, on March 13th, the house did in fact vote to pass legislation that could lead to TikTok being banned with a vote of 353-65. Now the bill will be sent to the senate for them to decide. Joe Biden said that "if the bill reaches his desk, he will sign it into law". 

Comments

Hi Brandon, though your information is correct, I think it would be beneficial to include more sources and a little more information about the matter. You covered the basics, but didn't give much inside into the original post or what the ban entails/the likelihood of TikTok actually being banned in the U.S.

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This was a very detailed answer and gave specific information about the vote. I did wish you linked the article to your comment so others can look at it. As well as having other sources that back up your answer. Overall great job though.

Answer 3

Yes, the U.S. House of Representatives did pass a bill in favor of banning TikTok in the U.S., however, the ban is not official. The bill must first pass the Senate, and if they vote yes then to President Biden. But TikTok is not out of the woods yet, though the ban is not official, Biden states that if the bill lands on his desk he will sign it. It is still unsure who the Senate will vote in favor of, but TikTok is not banned in the U.S. just by the bill passing in the U.S. House of Representatives.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/tiktok-ban-bill-house-vote-03-13-24/h_caba02183ea1c11e36bcaad7fa0a1cc6

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/joe-biden-supports-bill-forcing-the-sale-or-ban-of-tiktok/ar-BB1jHtr1

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-is-likely-to-pass-a-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-but-it-faces-an-uncertain-path-in-the-senate/ar-BB1jNy0c

Comments

I appreciate that you outlined the process the bill must take before being approved. One thing I would consider is mentioning what piece of information and which source you got it from. It would be better than just listing all your sources without referencing them.

Answer 4

This statement is true. According to CNN the US House of Representatives voted on a bill than could ban TikTok in the future, but it does not confirm its official banning right now. The bill was voted on 354 to 65, with a mix of Republicans and Democrats on either side. The bill that was passed states argues that TikTok is a national security threat due to the potential information China has of U.S. users. However, according to the New York Times, there is still a long road ahead, as the bill still has to make its way through the senate, and even if it does, "it's likely to face legal challenges." Though the first bill was passed, it's hard to say what the future holds. Many people are arguing that the ban would take away free speech of Americans and harm the 7 million small American businesses that function primarily off the app. The account referenced in the first claim is from an account that regularly posts information about pop-culture events and news. Though it seems to post information that is correct, the account doesn't always give the sources in their posts. 

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/tiktok-ban-bill-house-vote-03-13-24/index.htm

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/technology/tiktok-ban-house-vote.htmll

Comments

Firstly, this is an excellent fact-check. You provided the most pertinent context for the situation and did not simply answer the claim. Not in relation to your answer, but I am curious to see how a TikTok ban will affect the social media landscape. Will another platform immediately replace TikTok, or will all of its users move to already existing platforms? How will platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook react to the banning of a company with so much influence over Americans?

Answer 5

This claim is true. Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok within the United States. According to Aljazeera a news company known for covering politics said, "The bill received resoundingly bipartisan support, with the vote of 352 to 65 in favour." Although the bill was passed by the House of Representatives, the bill still has to go through the Senate and if it is passed by the Senate then President Joe Biden will sign the bill. President Biden when asked if he would sign the bill to ban TikTok said, "if they pass it, I'll sign it." Through this research it can be seen that this claim is true, yet we still have to wait and see if the Senate will sign to ban TikTok. 

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/13/us-house-passes-bill-that-would-ban-tiktok-amid-national-security-concerns#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20House%20of,352%20to%2065%20in%20favour.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-tiktok-ban-house-china-aaa884d8c974f0a35856af5ee6aa4e99

Answer 6

This is true. According to an article released by NBC News, the U.S. House of Representatives did vote to pass the bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. However, it is important to note that there are several more steps needed to ban the app in the United States. The bill still must go through a Senate vote and presidential approval. If any amendments need to be made to the bill, it must go through the entire process again. This means that even if the ban on TikTok becomes official, it will take months to come into effect. 

Due to the attention surrounding this potential ban, many large news outlets have covered the story. These include NBC, CNN, NY Times, and many more.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-likely-pass-bill-ban-tiktok-sending-senate-rcna142797

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/house-poised-pass-bill-ban-tiktok-faces-uncertain-108070083

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/technology/tiktok-ban-house-vote.htmll

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/tiktok-ban-bill-house-vote-03-13-24/index.html

Answer 7

While it has been announced on various platforms that The House of Representatives passed a legislation that could lead to one of two choices, either finding a buyer or have it get banned. So it officially has not been banned from NPR News, "President Biden has indicated he would sign the law, but first it must clear the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future" (Allyn). In AP News, they list a detailed summary of what we know and it says the same idea. "The legislation essentially gives ByteDance two options: sell TikTok or face a ban" (Handero). So it is safe to say that TikTok hasn't been officially been banned but faces a good chance of it being banned. 

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1238435508/tiktok-ban-bill-congress-china

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-bytedance-bill-divest-5b5a685e8f1e19d22182d62526bf19b8 

Answer 8

This is true. If china does not sell their stake in Tiktok, the app will be banned nationwide.

https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-house-vote-china-national-security-8fa7258fae1a4902d344c9d978d58a37#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20The%20House,is%20a%20national%20security%20threat.

Comments

This is a clear and concise fact check. However, if you included a bit more background information it would be helpful. I think it would help people understand the entirety of the situation, as well as why it is happening.

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This is very clear and concise, however next time I would add some more supporting evidence for how you came to this conclusion. Also some background to better understand the claim would be useful.