TikTok faces U.S. ban as House votes to pass bill forcing app to separate from Chinese-backed owner ByteDance, despite opposition from Trump and Elon Musk

TikTok is facing a ban in the United States after Congress voted overwhelmingly to force the app's Chinese parent company to divest.

The House passed the bill Wednesday morning in a bipartisan vote 352 - 65, despite calls from Donald Trump and Elon Musk to go against the bill and fury from teenagers not to stop them getting on the wildly popular video platform.

Now, senators will decide whether the national security threat posed by TikTok is worth the headache from constituents who love the app, and have been calling lawmakers nonstop asking them to vote against the measure. The social media company boasts over 150 million American users.

The House China Select Committee says Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials through ByteDance are using TikTok to spy on its U.S. users' locations and dictate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns, making it a national security threat.

ByteDance would have five months after the law is signed to divest from TikTok. If it does not, app stores and web hosting platforms would not be allowed to distribute it in the U.S.

The bill has a good shot of becoming law as a bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed the bill and Joe Biden confirmed that he would sign it if it also passes the Senate.

Still, as the bill has gained more steam, so too has its opposition. Trump threw cold water on it last week, insisting if TikTok is banned its rival Facebook would 'double their business.'

'I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better,' Trump wrote in a social media post. 'They are a true Enemy of the People!' 

TikTok sent this notification to users on Tuesday morning, prompting them to get in touch with their lawmakers to let them know whether they support the TikTok bill

Lawmakers accused TikTok of providing its U.S. user data to its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance, which they say has connections to the Chinese Communist Party

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk has come out against the TikTok bill, claiming it could be used as a form of government suppression

Elon Musk joined Trump in opposing the effort to reign in TikTok's influence, calling it government 'censorship,' in a post on X Tuesday.

'This law is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control! If it were just about TikTok, it would only cite 'foreign control' as the issue, but it does not,' Musk stated.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also voted against the bill, mentioning Musk by name, praising him for restoring her account on X after it was formerly banned and decrying the 'Pandora's Box' this bill could open. 

'What's to stop the U.S. government in the future from forcing the sale of another social media company claiming it is protecting American's data from foreign adversaries?'

'I believe this bill can cause future problems. It's opening Pandora's Box and I am opposed to this bill,' Greene said Wednesday on the House floor.

'This is really about controlling Americans' data, and if we cared about Americans' data then we would stop the sale of Americans' data universally, not just with China.' 

But the bill's author, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., pushed back on that Wednesday morning. 

'TikTok is a threat to our national security because its owned by ByteDance, which does the bidding of the communist party,' Gallagher said on the floor.

'This bill therefore forces TikTok to break up with the Chinese Communist Party. It does not apply to American companies.'

Gallagher argued his bill would only impact companies subject to control by foreign adversaries.

Greene was among a number of significant GOP members who voted against the bill, including Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and more. 

On the other side of the aisle, 'Squad' members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also voted against the measure.

One lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, voted present. 

TikTok pushed back against the 'ban' in a statement shared with DailyMail.com after the House passed the bill.  

'This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it's a ban. We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.'

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said the bill could be akin to opening 'Pandora's Box' and that the future implications the measure are unknown 

TikTok advocates gathered outside of the Capitol ahead of Wednesday's vote to push back against the bill

Some of the advocates that came to the Capitol Wednesday were TikTok content creators

The CCP also pushed back against the passage of the bill. 

'Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok,' foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. 

'This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies' normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order.'

'In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself,' Wang added.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement the vote 'demonstrates Congress' opposition to Communist China's attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies.'

'I urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the President so he can sign it into law,' he continued.

In response to the growing support behind the bill, TikTok sent out a push notification to its 100 million users yesterday telling them 'Your voice matters in stopping the shutdown.' 

The notification prompted users to reach out to their congressional member to urge them to vote against the proposed bill. 

As a result, congressional offices received hundreds of calls about the bill Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, congressional aides told DailyMail.com.

Many callers appeared to be children or concerned parents begging the app not be banned. 

Users are being told the bill threatens TikTok's very existence, though what it actually does is force its parent company to divest - something callers are largely in support of once staffers explain the nuance of the bill.

'TikTok's campaign to have users call their representatives shows just how much control they have. This campaign is reminiscent of typical Communist Party tactics,' Rep. Greg Murphy, R- N.C., told DailyMail.com in a statement Tuesday.

'Unfortunately, these callers don't understand what they are really advocating for - they are following orders from Beijing. The CCP is hoping to replicate their modus operandi of telling their citizens what to do.'

His office's phones were 'blowing up' according to staff. Murphy voted in favor of the bill Wednesday.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., told DailyMail.com he is in favor of the bill and despite the deluge of calls, 'We'll talk to any constituent that wants to call in and talk to us through this.'

'We're explaining our position, and it's a normal part of the process,' he said.

Rep. John Duarte, R- Calif., told DailyMail.com that though he does not know yet how he will vote on the bill, 'It won't be because 16-year-olds call me from all over the country.'

The bill passed through committee last week with a bipartisan unanimous 50-0 vote.

In a statement, TikTok said of the bill's passing committee: 'This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States. The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.' 

TikTok sent this notification to users last week after the bill was introduced

Lawmakers have also expressed reticence about how the TikTok bill could impact First Amendment protections. 

'I think it's a terrible idea and it's hysteria that's running through both parties now.' Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com Friday. 

'In America, we don't just tell people you can't own a company because we don't like you. And 150 million people use their First Amendment freedom to express themselves on TikTok, and you can't just have that taken away from them.' 

Fellow Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie agreed. 

'The so-called TikTok ban is a trojan horse. The President will be given the power to ban web sites, not just apps,' he posted on X.