TikTok Accuses U.S. House Of Using Foreign Aid To Force Nationwide Ban On The Platform

TikTok on Wednesday called out the House of Representatives over Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) plan to tie legislation threatening to ban the social media platform nationwide with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

In a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, the company said House lawmakers are yet again targeting the platform in violation of Americans’ First Amendment rights.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,” the company said.

Under pressure to take action to support U.S. allies abroad, Johnson is expected to bring three stand-alone aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to the floor for a vote as early as Saturday.

But to make the proposition more appealing to his hard-line Republican colleagues, Johnson plans to tie foreign aid to a package that has several foreign policy proposals, including updated TikTok legislation that could lead to a nationwide ban on the popular platform.

Last month, the House approved a bill that would force ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell its stake in the company within six months or risk the platform being banned across the country. But the bill never made it to the floor of the Senate, where it faced bipartisan opposition.

The updated version of that legislation would extend the divestment period up to 12 months, a development that was welcomed by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,