What do you need to know about the TikTok ban bill passed by the House?

A bill that would require the Chinese parent company of TikTok to sell the popular social media app has faced difficulties in the Senate. Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, is one of the main supporters of the TikTok legislation in the House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, lawmakers in the House passed legislation aimed at forcing ByteDance, the Chinese internet company, to sell its extremely popular social media app TikTok.

The vote was the latest development in a long-running cold war between the United States and China over control of valuable technologies ranging from computer chips to artificial intelligence. Lawmakers and the White House have expressed concerns that Chinese ownership of TikTok poses a threat to national security because Beijing could use the app to access Americans' data or launch a disinformation campaign.

The bill is facing difficulties in the Senate.

Why did the legislators of the House support the bill?

Many are concerned that the Chinese government may demand personal data of Americans from ByteDance and that, according to Chinese law, ByteDance is required to comply with such requests.

Lawmakers, including Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, who, along with Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, co-sponsored the legislation, also say that China could use TikTok's powerful algorithm to deliver political propaganda to its users. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines raised these concerns last year.