How the TikTok bill could affect the country

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The U.S. House passed a bill on Wednesday that could ban a favorite social media app nationwide. The bill is bipartisan with many lawmakers concerned over what they see as a threat to national security. The app creating all of this opposition is TikTok, which Statista says is used by almost 150 million people in the United States alone.

Representative Kelly Armstrong, R-North Dakota, has been a strong supporter of this bill even when it was in committee. He voted yes on Tuesday and says it is important to note that this is not a ban.

“About making sure that our strategic adversaries don’t have access to the most personalized and complete data that anybody exists. TikTok is very much controlled by ByteDance which is very much controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” said Armstrong.

The House’s decision on TikTok is reaching college campuses nationwide including Bismarck State College. Although lawmakers say it is a national security issue, students who use TikTok frequently, like Blake Reamann, say dangerous activity doesn’t happen on the platform very often.

“There are trends here and there, but that is bound to happen on any platform. You see that on YouTube, on Instagram, everywhere there’s been a public space for people to talk,” said Reamann.

The bill will now head to the Senate where it is facing uncertainty from some members. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, says he believes the Senate will pass some version of this.

“The concept has momentum; I expect we will do something similar in the Senate, if not identical. At some point we will have to reconcile the differences between those two bills,” said Cramer.

If the Senate should pass the bill, it will go to President Biden who has made it clear he will sign it. Armstrong says before a ban could happen nationwide, ByteDance, which owns TikTok, would have time to respond.

“I assume they’ll litigate it, but if not, ByteDance will have to make a decision on whether they want to shut down TikTok or they want to sell TikTok. If they sell it to American companies, TikTok will continue to operate,” said Armstrong.

Reamann says he believes this issue will not turn into a full nationwide ban, but rather, will be left up to the states.

“It’s pretty hard to just outright ban an app, just because you think the owners of it are doing something wrong. I do think it could set a bad precedent though that, for the most part, it’s just free speech. People are enjoying themselves on an app,” said Reamann.

But for now, TikTok users will continue to enjoy their freedom, while also monitoring the latest on Capitol Hill.

Last May, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law that would effectively ban the use of TikTok statewide starting next year. However, in November a federal judge blocked it. It is under appeal.