President Biden supports bill that could make TikTok unavailable in the U.S.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday that he would sign a bill that could force TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular social media company or face a ban in the U.S.

"If they pass it, I’ll sign it," Biden said, referring to bipartisan legislation that is on track to get a vote next week in the House. The bill, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would need to pass the Senate as well before reaching Biden's desk.

The legislation would allow the president, via the FBI and intelligence agencies, to name certain social media apps as national security threats if they are determined to be under the control of foreign adversaries. Apps deemed a risk would be banned from U.S. app stores unless they sever ties with foreign-controlled entities within 180 days.

Members of Congress have made clear that their intention is to force ByteDance to divest the app. Both parties have raised concerns about whether China can access U.S. user data, as well as TikTok's effect on young people.

TikTok launched a lobbying campaign Thursday against the effort, sending notifications to some of its users claiming Congress is "planning a total ban" of the app and urging them to call their representatives. Some members of Congress, like Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said they were inundated with calls from children and teenagers.

"We had kids, we had little children calling into our office and others basically saying questions like, 'What is Congress? What is a congressman? Can I have my TikTok back?'"

While it is usually congressional staff members who answer phones, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said she joined the effort personally.

"Well, I kind of went into mom mode, right?