A United States ban on Chinese‑owned TikTok, the country’s most popular social media platform among young people, now seems increasingly inevitable. This comes a day after the app’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, endured a harsh grilling by Washington lawmakers from across the political spectrum. The Biden administration must tread carefully in potentially denying 150 million young Americans their favorite platform, especially after a similar effort by former President Donald Trump was struck down by a U.S. court.
During the hearing, Chew faced a barrage of questions and was frequently cut off by lawmakers who made clear their belief that TikTok—best known for jokes and dance routines—poses a threat to national security and mental health. TikTok executive Vanessa Pappas later decried the hearing as “rooted in xenophobia.” With both Republicans and Democrats pressing him, Chew now faces a White House ultimatum: TikTok must either sever ties with its China‑based parent ByteDance or be banned in the United States.
A ban would hinge on the passage of the RESTRICT Act, a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this month that would grant the Commerce Department authority to prohibit foreign technology deemed a national‑security risk. When asked about Chew’s tumultuous hearing, White House spokesperson Karine Jean‑Pierre reiterated the administration’s support for the legislation, one of several congressional proposals aimed at restricting or banning TikTok.
The “sell‑or‑get‑banned” order upends two and a half years of negotiations between the White House and TikTok to keep the service operating under its current ownership while addressing security concerns. Those talks produced “Project Texas,” a proposal that would keep U.S. user data on American soil and out of Chinese legal reach. However, the White House grew skeptical after FBI and Justice Department officials warned that vulnerabilities to China would remain. “It’s hard for TikTok to prove a negative—‘No, we’re not turning over any data to the Chinese government,’” said Michael Daniel, executive director of the Cyber Threat Alliance. “Look at how skeptical our European partners are about U.S. companies where we have a strong legal system.”
The administration’s preferred solution now is for TikTok to divest from ByteDance, either through a sale or a spin‑off. “My understanding is that what has been… insisted on is the divestment of TikTok by the parent company,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Yet experts warn that TikTok cannot function without ByteDance, which provides the app’s industry‑leading technology. “ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok and the golden‑jewel algorithm at the center of this security debate is a hot‑button issue that will not necessarily be solved just by a spin‑off or sale of the assets,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. China has already ruled out approving a TikTok sale, citing laws that protect sensitive technology from foreign buyers.
If a ban proceeds, it would allow domestic rivals—Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube—to gain ground. “TikTok’s demise will clearly benefit Meta and Snapchat front and centre in the eyes of Wall Street,” Ives noted, predicting the saga will dominate the rest of the year. What remains uncertain is whether banning TikTok will cost Washington politically among young voters. “A democracy taking steps that impede the ability of young Americans to express themselves and earn a livelihood would be troubling,” said Cornell professor Sarah Kreps. Lawmakers questioning the CEO downplayed the risk of political backlash. “I want to say this to all the teenagers… who think we’re just old and out of touch,” Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw warned. “You may not care that your data is being accessed now, but there will be a day when you do care about it.”
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