Washington lawmakers propose legislation to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok.

• The "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" was introduced by Representatives Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi.
• The latest attempt in Washington, D.C. to prohibit TikTok's usage in the United States.
• In February, President Biden's reelection campaign launched an official TikTok account, which Gallagher criticized.

On Tuesday, a bill was introduced in Congress by lawmakers, mandating ByteDance to divest TikTok in order to prevent a ban of the app in the U.S.

Legislation introduced by Representatives Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, titled "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," asserts that TikTok is under the control of a foreign adversary and poses a threat to U.S. national security.

TikTok must choose between severing ties with the Chinese Communist Party or losing access to its American users, according to Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, in a statement announcing a bill. Krishnamoorthi, the committee's ranking member, concurs.

If the bill is passed, ByteDance will have approximately five months to divest TikTok. Meanwhile, web-hosting companies and app stores, including those owned by Google and Apple, will be required to stop supporting the app and any other ByteDance-related products.

"TikTok spokesperson stated that the bill is a complete ban on TikTok, regardless of the attempts to conceal it, and it will infringe on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and take away the platform that 5 million small businesses depend on for growth and job creation."

The latest action in Washington, D.C.'s multi-year effort to address TikTok's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has denied in Senate hearings, is the proposed legislation.

In 2022, President Biden signed legislation to restrict TikTok's use on government-owned devices, and other states have followed suit with similar bans on the app.

In mid-2020, the committee on foreign investment in the United States (CFIUS) ruled that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, needed to divest its U.S. assets within 90 days due to national security concerns.

The effort to ban TikTok in the U.S. seems to have slowed down, prompting some states, such as Montana, to attempt their own bans. However, in November, a Montana federal judge put a halt to the state's law, arguing that Montana did not provide evidence of how it would be constitutional. Montana is currently challenging the judge's decision.

Biden's reelection campaign launched an official TikTok account in February, which Gallagher criticized.

"Gallagher stated in a media interview that it was unacceptable and urged the president's TikTok campaign staffers to reverse course for the sake of national security."

A Pew Research Center survey in December revealed a decline in support for a U.S. government ban on TikTok, with 38% of adults supporting a ban in October, down from 50% in March.

The Biden campaign is now using TikTok, despite the app being banned on government phones.