The U.S. House is moving full steam ahead on a bill aimed at forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest the social media app — or face a ban in America. 

The full House is expected to vote on the legislation next week, after the measure was unanimously approved by a House committee on Thursday. 

“It is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik. “It is taking our data and it has been detrimental to our kids' mental health.”

What You Need To Know

  • The full House is expected to vote on the legislation, aimed at forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest the social media app, next week

  • The legislation is garnering rare bipartisan support, including the backing of New York Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrat Ritchie Torres. Both raised concerns that the app is a risk to national security and young Americans
  • TikTok is pushing back on the legislation. In a statement, the company accused lawmakers of “attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression”
  • President Joe Biden has said he would sign the legislation if it passes both the House and then the Senate 

The legislation is garnering rare bipartisan support, including the backing of Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, and Democrat Ritchie Torres. Both raised concerns that the app is a risk to national security and young Americans.

“The fact that we, as a country, have put our leading news source for the most impressionable minds in our society in the hands of our leading foreign adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, is an act of self-sabotage,” said Torres, who represents the Bronx. 

“I want to make sure that we’re protecting our kids’ privacy, but we’re also protecting them from the propaganda of adversaries like China,” said Stefanik, who represents New York’s North Country. 

TikTok is pushing back on the legislation. In a statement, the company accused lawmakers of “attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill also have raised concerns about free speech. 

The app reportedly urged users to call congressional offices. Lawmakers said their phone lines were inundated. 

“The iron grip that TikTok has on the minds of young people is a profound public health hazard,” Torres said of the calls. 

However, the last-minute lobbying effort did not seem to work. With a vote of 50 to zero, the legislation advanced through a key House panel and is poised for a vote on the House floor this upcoming week — lightning fast speed on Capitol Hill. 

Asked what he would say to young TikTok users, Torres said, “Congress is not going to ban TikTok. We’re simply forcing a sale of TikTok. So the more than 100 million users on TikTok will continue to be able to operate, but there's going to be new ownership.”

President Joe Biden has said he would sign the legislation if it passes both the House and then the Senate. 

However, Donald Trump, who threatened to ban TikTok when he was president, is now raising concerns about the bill, arguing restricting TikTok would benefit Facebook.