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The U.S. government has officially enacted a measure that will limit TikTok‘s power and reach — if it holds up in court. The ByteDance-owned app has vowed to wage a legal battle after President Biden approved a law that will ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance does not divest it first.

The divest-or-ban bill, authored by Representatives Mike Gallagher (R-wi) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il), is the latest in a series of Congressional attempts to control Beijing-based ByteDance and its buzzy short-form video app. It was introduced as a successor to the Restrict Act, which seemed destined for President Biden’s desk before it was tabled and retooled.

The latest piece of TikTok-oriented legislation did not meet the same fate as its predecessor. Though some Senators called for the bill’s vote to be delayed so that a public hearing could occur, the Senate ultimately followed the House’s...

If you’re one of the more than 150 million Americans who use TikTok, you may have heard that Congress passed a bill that could result in the incredibly popular app being banned. President Joe Biden signed it into law in April.

The signing came after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that will ban the app in the United States unless it divests from its Chinese parent company. The House passed a different version of the bill in March, but it stalled in the Senate. The new version is...

The Senate voted Tuesday to pass a bill that would either ban TikTok from American app stores and web-hosting services or force its China-based parent company ByteDance to sell the video-sharing platform within nearly a year.

The bill, titled the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would also create a process through which the president can designate certain social media applications with ties to foreign governments as a national security risk. The measure was approved by the Senate 79 to 18 — sending the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk.

Updated: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) filed a motion Friday that could lead to a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, less than a half year into his tenure.

Greene’s action came just as the House passed a $1.2 trillion package to fund the government through September and forestall a shutdown. The bill only would have passed with Democratic votes, with a majority of Republicans against it.

“Ok, deep breath America, here we go again,” CNN anchor Dana Bash told viewers after Manu Raju and other reporters interviewed Greene on the steps of the Capitol afterward.

No vote on Greene’s motion to vacate is scheduled, as she did not seek a “privileged” resolution that would have triggered a two-legislative day timeframe for a floor vote. That is what happened in October, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-fl) led a successful effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. What...

The Senate is expected to vote on a proposal that would prevent ByteDance from operating TikTok in the United States, but before it does, it may air its findings in public. Several Senators, including Maria Cantwell (D-wa) and Mark Warner (D-va), have suggested that U.S. legislators should hold a hearing to discuss the threat TikTok poses to American consumers.

The proposed ban would be enforced through a bill co-authored by Congressmen Mike Gallagher (R-Wi) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il). Beijing-based ByteDance could avoid a U.S. ban by divesting TikTok so that the app’s parent company would no longer possess ties to a “foreign adversary” like China. When Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi’s bill passed in the House of Representatives, the Department of Justice indicated that it would prefer to push for a divestiture rather than an outright TikTok ban.

One of the biggest issues the bill faces is the general public.

House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed legislation today that would force the parent company of TikTok to divest the popular app or face a ban on U.S. platforms.

The legislation passed 352-65, easily clearing the 2/3 threshold needed.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where no timetable is set for considering the legislation.

“The Senate will review the legislation when it comes over from the House,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-ny) said in a statement.

But the bill gained two key supporters, Sen. Mark Warner (D-va) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-fl), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who have previously sought measures to restrict the effort.

Under the legislation, ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, would be forced to sell the social media platform within about five months or face having it banned on app stores or web hosting services. The bill, called the Protecting...

TikTok is trying to stop the U.S. government from implementing a nationwide ban on the app, but its big move may have backfired. As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a contentious bill introduced by a bipartisan group of Congresspeople, TikTok has prompted its U.S.-based users to call their Congressional reps and protest the measure.

The bill, co-authored by Mike Gallagher (R-wi) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il), is the latest in a years-long series of proposals that, if enacted, would effectively ban TikTok in the United States. This particular bill would enforce its ban by pointing to China’s status as a “foreign adversary.” Congress has long harbored concerns about TikTok’s data security practice, and the bill would act on those fears by sidelining apps that could send data to China.

The House Commerce Committee passed Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi’s bill with a 50-0. The next...

Bobby Kotick was the reason for the merger of Activision and the gaming division of Vivendi, giving birth to Activision Blizzard. After serving as the chief executing officer (CEO) of the company for 32 years, he finally stepped down from the position following Microsoft’s $69 Billion deal that aroused monopoly fears among regulators.

What’s more, people were relieved to see him leave as damning tales surfaced over the internet associated with him. Now after him remaining silent for a few months, appears like he might be on to something. This time he won’t be going after a position in an organization, but probably after an organization.

Bobby Kotick Has Set His Priorities Right

Bobby Kotick has served 32 years as Activision CEO.

In a recent report by the American business newspaper The Wall Street Journal, the former Activision CEO might spend Billions of dollars on a move that may send the Chinese video-hosting service Tiktok,...

Congress was flooded with phone calls this week from angry teens opposing a bill that could potentially ban TikTok. President Joe Biden isn’t worried about the controversy. On Friday, he told reporters he plans to sign the legislation if it passes.

The statement comes as Biden’s likely 2024 opponent Donald Trump has started backing away from his past efforts to ban TikTok, and is now publicly defending the popular platform — a decision that some observers speculate could be related to a Republican megadonor’s financial interests in TikTok’s parent company.

A bill that could render TikTok banned from new downloads in the United States quickly advanced to the house on Thursday afternoon after a bipartisan committee voted 50-0 for its approval.

The bill, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was introduced earlier this month by representatives Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi. If enacted, the legislation would block apps owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, from being available in Apple or Google app stores in the U.S.

More specifically, the bill would prohibit apps owned by the Beijing-based company to be downloaded in the United States unless ByteDance divested its applications, including TikTok, within 180 days of the legislation’s enactment. On a broader level, the bill would also allow the White House to — in certain cases — ban access to an app owned by a foreign adversary if the application threatened national security.

TikTok responded to the...

Update: The House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously passed legislation to compel ByteDance to divest TikTok or face having the social media platform banned on app stores or web hosting services.

The committee voted 50-o for the legislation, which now must be voted on by the full House. But Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed support for the bill.

The vote followed a lobbying effort by TikTok, including sending prompts to users urging them to contact their member of Congress to protest the legislation.

Lawmakers’ offices reported being inundated with calls, but the strategy may have backfired when it came to members of the committee.

At a markup this afternoon, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa), the chair of the committee, said that “we witnessed first hand, in real time, how the Chinese Communist party can weaponize platforms like TikTok to manipulate the American people.” She accused the company of forcing users...

Congress is learning a tough lesson this Thursday: Don’t fuck with teens and their scrolling.

Teenagers are often (mistakenly) considered to be a generally politically apathetic demographic. Many of them can’t vote, so lawmakers tend to overlook younger Americans’ role in shaping culture and political movements. But as lawmakers consider new legislation that would potentially ban the social media app TikTok, congressional offices are being flooded with calls from teenagers livid over the prospect of losing one of their favorite platforms.

One House Republican aide describes the experience...

It’s been nearly one year since TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew visited Capitol Hill for a contentious hearing, but Congress is still trying to figure out how it wants to regulate the world’s top short-form video app. The latest proposal comes from a bipartisan group of U.S. Congresspeople, who are hoping to force ByteDance to divest TikTok.

The latest bill was introduced in the House by Mike Gallagher (R-wi) and Raja Krishnamoorthi, who are the Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi’s bill, which was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of about a dozen Congressional reps, takes on “Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications.” The list of qualifying foreign adversaries includes Iran, Russia, North Korea, and ByteDance’s home country, China.

ByteDance and TikTok are specifically named in the bill. Should the measure be signed into law,...

TikTok would face a ban in the United States unless it severs ties to ByteDance, its parent company that has long face scrutiny and criticism for its connections to the Chinese government, under new legislation proposed by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers.

The bill, introduced today, would prevent app stores or web hosting services from TikTok applications unless it severs ties to ByteDance. The bill also gives the president a process for designating that a social media application under the control of a foreign adversary as a national security risk. ByteDance, based in China, would have about five months to divest its U.S. operations.

The legislation has the backing of Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wi) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il), the chairman and the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Ccp.

In a statement, Gallagher said, This is my message to TikTok: break up with...

Stephen Colbert poked fun at his former “Daily Show” bud and late night peer Jon Stewart on Wednesday night, cracking a joke about the recent cancellation of the comedian’s Apple TV+ show.

During the opening monologue for “The Late Show,” Colbert discussed President Joe Biden’s meeting on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the New York Times, China’s economy has been struggling in part due to “anemic consumer spending and high youth unemployment.”

“It’s gotten so bad that second graders can’t get a job at the iPhone factory,” Colbert quipped. “And I’m being told that in response to that joke, Apple has canceled Jon Stewart again.”

In October, “The Problem with Jon Stewart” was canceled after two seasons. The shuttering reportedly came down to creative differences that had to do with the series’ coverage of artificial intelligence and China. The controversial topics...

A group of House lawmakers want to know: Was China the reason for Jon Stewart’s exit from Apple TV+?

Stewart’s show, The Problem with Jon Stewart, effectively ended last month when Stewart and his team parted ways amid “creative differences.” Sources told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that “there had been tension between Apple and Stewart ahead of the show’s third season return over topics featured on The Problem.” Among the topics was issues related to China and artificial intelligence.

Now, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has sent a letter to Apple and its CEO Tim Cook citing the THR story, and asking whether the tech giant’s long relationship with China was behind the move.

“If these reports are accurate, it potentially speaks to broader concerns about indirect Chinese Communist Party (Ccp) influence over the creative expression of American artists and companies on Ccp-related topics,...

Reps heading a special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives are questioning Apple CEO Tim Cook about whether the tech giant’s decision to cancel Jon Stewart’s Apple TV+ talk show was because the host may have been planning an upcoming episode about China.

“While companies have the right to determine what content is appropriate for their streaming service, the coercive tactics of a foreign power should not be directly or indirectly influencing these determinations,” the leaders of the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (Ccp) wrote in the letter to Cook, released Wednesday.

News that “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” from the former “Daily Show” host, would not return for a third season on Apple TV+ came out in October. Per the New York Times, Stewart told staff members that possible upcoming topics for the show including China and artificial...

Members of a special House committee fired off a letter to Apple, questioning whether the decision to cancel The Problem with Jon Stewart was due to concerns over the company’s relationship with China.

Last month, it was announced that the Apple+ show was ending, and The New York Times reported that Stewart told members of his staff that the company was concerned about some of the show’s topics, including China.

In a letter to CEO Tim Cook, the members of the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party wrote, “If these reports are accurate, it potentially speaks to broader concerns about indirect Chinese Communist Party (Ccp) influence over the creative expression of American artists and companies on Ccp-related topics. It also highlights an additional reason, beyond the traditionally-cited national security rationales, why we encourage Apple to accelerate its efforts to reduce its dependence...

New Delhi, July 22 (Ians) The rapid rise of Indian-Americans from politics to administration, entrepreneurship to technology, medicine to hospitality, science to academia has put the global spotlight like never before on the high-achieving four million-plus strong diaspora.

The community happens to be the most educated with the highest median income in the US, with an average household earning of $123,700 — making them the top earners in the US among other Asians in the country.

As the profile of the Indian American community — now the second-largest immigrant group in the US — has grown, so too has its economic, political, and social influence, according to a recent Carnegie Endowment study.

In 2010, only 18 per cent of Americans saw India as “very important” to the United States, according to The Chicago Council survey.

Now, India is perceived by Americans as their seventh favourite nation in the world, with 70 per cent of people viewing India favourably in 2023, says a Gallup survey.

Exclusive: Members of a House select committee on China met with Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and later with a group of Hollywood filmmakers and executives Wednesday, amid concerns over industry business practices in engaging with Beijing.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-wi), was joined by nine other members, including its ranking member, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-il).

According to a source close to the committee, the hourlong meeting “was constructive and it was candid.”

Gallagher expressed concerns around censorship, and Iger spoke about “the relationship with the Chinese Communist party and how it has changed,” among other topics, the source said.

Iger was joined by other Disney executives, and they spoke about how “their goal is not to change the stories,” the source said, adding that the executives conveyed how they tried to walk the line between cultural and political requests from Chinese censors. “They admitted it...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) have introduced legislation aimed at banning social media company TikTok from operating in the United States.

The proposed bill — dubbed the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act, or the “Anti-social Ccp Act” — would prohibit “all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern.”

The bill’s introduction was prompted by concern that TikTok,...