American opinion divided as the clock ticks for lik Tok

Only 31% of Americans support a nationwide ban on made-in-China app, according to a poll

- Bhagyashree Garekar

WASHINGTON Citing risks to national security, the United States is moving towards forcing the divestiture or ban of a made-in-China app that millions of Americans love.

Lawmakers and top intelligence officials say TikTok threatens national interests because it is owned by a Chinese company, which leaves open the possibility that Beijing can use the app to gather personal data on Americans, manipulate public opinion or distribute malicious software.

But Americans remain to be convinced that banning TikTok is in their best interests. Only 31per cent of Americans support a nationwide ban on TikTok, according to an Associated Press-Norc Centre for Public Affairs Research opinion poll in February. Another 35 per cent oppose the ban, while 31 per cent are neutral.

“If I want to sell my personal data to a Chinese company, I should be able to, unless I have top secret personal data” wrote one netizen as the Bill named Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act became the top talking point on American news sites.

He was one of many criticising the Bill as a challenge to the constitutional right to free speech and a case of overreach of government power.

“The proper relationship between government and citizens in the US is that the citizen decides what to be exposed to and what ideologies to embrace,” said Representative Dan Bishop, a Republican from North Carolina.

He was speaking against the Bill before the House approved it 362-65 on March 13, just a week after it was introduced.

If approved by the Senate, the Bill will go before US President Joe Biden who has said he would sign it.

This would force ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to divest the app within five months of the legislation going into effect.