Episode 56: Congress Plays TikTok-Toe

On March 13, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 352 to 65 on the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. This bill is aimed at forcing ByteDance, a Chinese tech company, to divest its subsidiary TikTok or face a ban of the popular social media app in the U.S. In practical terms, if a suitable divestiture doesn’t happen, the bill would require Apple and Google to remove it from their app stores—and web hosting companies, advertisers, and others wouldn’t be able to do business with TikTok. This would make it far more difficult, if not impossible, for any American to access it.

TikTok has been through a political whirlwind since the Trump Administration first began an effort to ban TikTok or force a divestiture in 2020. Despite growing concern among lawmakers and bills introduced in recent years, TikTok seemed to have dodged a bullet, especially when President Biden joined the app last month. However, TikTok’s fortunes took a drastic turn when the recent bipartisan bill emerged and gained widespread support.

The saga raises a lot of questions. To what extent does Chinese influence, and money, affect our politics? How have the positions of Biden, Trump, and other political figures evolved on the issue? And what will this all mean for the bill’s prospects in the notoriously slower and more deliberative U.S. Senate? Evan is joined by friends of the pod Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress, and Nathan Leamer, CEO of Fixed Gear Strategies.