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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Multiple sites are covering H.R.7521 - Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act [congress.gov] which aims to ban Bytedance's Tiktok, a platform for influence and surveillance, from the US.

The app has been a diplomatic hot potato between the United States and China since the administration of former president Donald Trump, who once wanted to ban the app.

Now, a bill in Congress aims to force the company to cut ties with ByteDance or be barred from the United States.

The bill's supporters say ByteDance as a Chinese firm simply cannot go against the wishes of Beijing, and can provide access to the data on more than 170 million American users for everything from spying to election influence campaigns.

– Tech giant: What is ByteDance, the TikTok parent in US crosshairs? [today.rtl.lu]

And

But that glosses over the deeper TikTok security problem, which the legislation does not fully address. In the four years this battle has gone on, it has become clear that the security threat posed by TikTok has far less to do with who owns it than it does with who writes the code and algorithms that make TikTok tick.

Those algorithms, which guide how TikTok watches its users and feeds them more of what they want, are the magic sauce of an app that 170 million Americans now have on their phones. That’s half the country.

But TikTok doesn’t own those algorithms; they are developed by engineers who work for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which assembles the code in great secrecy in its software labs, in Beijing, Singapore and Mountain View, Calif. But China has issued regulations that appear designed to require government review before any of ByteDance’s algorithms could be licensed to outsiders. Few expect those licenses to be issued — meaning that selling TikTok to an American owner without the underlying code might be like selling a Ferrari without its famed engine.

– TikTok’s Security Threats Go Beyond the Scope of House Legislation [nytimes.com]

And many other sites:

• The U.S. Wants to Ban TikTok for the Sins of Every Social Media Company [404media.co], 404 Media
• Nikki Haley blames Tiktok for making young Americans pro-Palestine and supporting Osama Bin Laden [indiatimes.com], The Times of India
• TikTok ‘Ban’ Bill Passes in the House [gizmodo.com], Gizmodo
• TikTok’s Security Threats Go Beyond the Scope of House Legislation [nytimes.com], The New York Times
• House passes bill that could ban TikTok [theverge.com], The Verge
• TikTok crackdown passes U.S. House: What to know about today's vote [www.cbc.ca], CBC
• US House passes bill that could force TikTok ban [dw.com], Deutsche Welle
• Why the US wants to ban TikTok [dw.com], Deutsche Welle
• US House votes to crack down on TikTok [dw.com], Deutsche Welle
• House Passes Bill Banning TikTok Unless China's ByteDance Divests App [variety.com], Variety
• TikTok Ban Bill Passes House Vote, Heads to Senate [rollingstone.com], Rolling Stone
• House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale From Chinese Owner or Ban the App [nytimes.com], The New York Times
• House of Representatives defies China with threat to ban TikTok [elpais.com], El País
• Will the US crack down on TikTok? Six questions (and expert answers) about the bill in Congress. [atlanticcouncil.org], The Atlantic Council
• TikTok lives for now: How the race to ban it could unfold [axios.com], Axios
• TikTok ban bill passes US House [rfa.org], RFA
• US House passes bill that could force TikTok ban [dw.com], Deutsche Welle
• Three Politicians Who Voted for the TikTok 'Ban' Have Active Accounts [gizmodo.com], Gizmodo
• US Congress passes TikTok sale-or-ban plan [theregister.com],
• U.S. House votes to ban TikTok unless it is sold by China-controlled parent  [kansasreflector.com], The Kansas Reflector
• America Will Be Fine Without TikTok [theatlantic.com], The Atlantic
• What Happens Next With the TikTok Ban Bill [nytimes.com], The Atlantic

Back in 2022, CBS 60 Minutes covered Bytedance's Tiktok [cbsnews.com] and the differences between the domestic edition served to audiences in Red China versus the apparent psyops weapon served up to those outside Red China.

Original Submission