House passes bill To Force TikTok Sale Or Ban – What’s Next?

Today, the house passed a bill forcing the sale or ban of TikTok. Remarkably, this was a bipartisan vote. @AOC voted with @mattgaetz.

A passage of the bill in the senate will be more complicated, with the outcome uncertain. @POTUS has said he would sign the bill if passed in the senate.

A sale of @TikTok to American owners or a ban is common sense.

• TikTok should only be allowed to operate in the U.S. if China allows @Facebook and @X.
• TikTok does not adequately protect minors.
• TikTok is highly addictive and threatens minors’ mental health.
• TikTok U.S. is suspected to share data on its users with the CCP, which is a national security issue.

If the bill does become law, and TikTok is banned instead of sold (which is the more likely outcome), it will be a boon for alternative social media services across the board, but especially for those who’s demo and functionality are similar to TikTok, such as @Instagram and @Snapchat. More users, more traffic, more revenue.

For advertisers, this is potentially bad news because TikTok is the main gateway to reaching millennials and zoomers. It is unclear if other services can replicate TikTok’s reach into those demos.

A ban or sale would also intensify tensions with China.