WASHINGTON - (NEWSnet) – A bill that could ban downloads of the social media app TikTok to U.S. phones and digital tablets is quickly gaining traction in the House.

The bill advanced out of committee Thursday with a unanimous bipartisan vote — 50-0. It also has the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson and could soon come up for a full vote in the House. 

The White House has provided technical support in the drafting of the bill, though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the TikTok legislation “still needs some work” to get to a place where President Joe Biden would endorse it.

On Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee reviewed the bill, currently titled the “Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.”

There have been previous attempts to put restrictions on TikTok, a popular app whose short-form videos often get shared on other platforms.

Already, the federal government and more than half of U.S. states have banned the use of the social media app on government-owned devices. There are some limited exceptions on the federal government policy, such as for law enforcement.

But this bill reflects recent bipartisan efforts to respond to national security concerns with the app on a broader level.

“Data brokers collect a stunning amount of sensitive information and data on Americans—from their physical and mental health, to when and where they’re traveling. Once collected, this sensitive information can be sold to anyone, including foreign adversaries like China. The days of data brokers surveilling Americans for our enemies should be numbered, and this important legislation will ensure that they are," the committee chair, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, said in the announcement.

TikTok officials have said that fears that the app’s use could pose cybersecurity risks are unfounded.

The draft legislation pending with Congress would require ByteDance Ltd., which is based in Beijing, to divest TikTok and other applications it controls within 180 days of enactment of the bill or those applications will be prohibited in the United States.

Second, it creates a narrow process to let the executive branch prohibit access to an app owned by a foreign adversary if it poses a threat to national security.

The response from TikTok fans ahead of the committee vote was emphatic, according to a Congressional reporter at Politico. Olivia Beavers said in a tweet that the "phones have not stopped ringing" at one of the House GOP offices.

The bill’s author, Rep. Mike Gallagher, rejected TikTok’s assertion of a ban. Rather, he said it’s an effort to force a change in TikTok’s ownership.

He also took issue with TikTok urging some users to call their representatives and urge them to vote no on the bill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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