On March 13, 2024, the U.S. House passed a bill that could mark the end of an era: the TikTok era. Almost everyone has heard of the app TikTok, where users can create and share short videos. It was initially released in 2016, but increasingly gained popularity when quarantine hit as many bored people turned to the app for entertainment. 

However, in recent years, there were talks of banning TikTok in the US, following the lead of several countries who have already taken this step, such as the UK, Canada, India, France, Australia, and many more. However, many people do not know the reasoning behind these bans.

Now, the U.S. House has passed a bill that could cause a nationwide ban on TikTok. This ban, were it to come into effect, “would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake,” says AP News. 

Currently, the ban is not in place yet, as it has only passed the House and is yet to go to the Senate. However, if the Senate passes the bill, it will go to President Joe Biden to sign, who has already stated that if it comes to that, he will sign it. The Washington Post says that “Biden’s words may provide a push” for this bill to be passed in the Senate. 

So, why is the government lobbying so hard for this app to be banned or sold? According to the New York Times, “Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government.”

However, even after the concern of data leaks, many people are protesting this bill, voicing their concerns about how this bill is a violation of the First Amendment. According to The Guardian, TikTok sent a message to its approximately 102.3 users in the US saying to protest, even including “a mechanism that allows people to search for their representative’s number by inputting their zip code.” 

In the end, the fate of this bill depends on the Senate, who, according to CBS News, “does not seem to be in a hurry to send the bill to President Biden.” For the foreseeable future, TikTok is safe in the US, and its users in the country, including many high schoolers, can keep using it as normal.