The House of Representatives advanced a bill that could effectively ban TikTok within the United States this week and the reaction has so far been extremely critical. Last night, late-night hosts weight in on the potential ban, with The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon asking, “Can you imagine if TikTok was banned?”
“I mean, just picture lying down in bed and then actually going to bed,” he quipped. “Apparently, Congress is scared that TikTok is spying on us. Then Alexa was like, ‘Yeah, TikTok. That’s the one who’s spying on you. Ban it. Ban it.’”
He added, “But TikTok is fighting back. Their CEO told users to call their representatives. Young people are like, ‘First we’re losing TikTok, now we have to make a phone call?”
On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the show by discussing the “devastating event” that could impact tens of millions of Americans. “I’m not talking about climate change or AI or diarrhea on planes,” he said. “I’m talking about the House of Representatives today, with an overwhelming majority, passed a bill to ban TikTok in the United States unless the Chinese company that owns TikTok agrees to sell it. Only 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted no, and 352 voted yes. Which almost never happens anymore. Who would guess that this would be the thing that brings both sides together.”
He warned, “I don’t think we fully understand how crazy these kids are going to go if they kill TikTok.”
On The Daily Show, rotating host Desi Lydic recounted the news and detailed how TikTok is mobilizing young people to stand up against the bill. “That’s how you know this issue is important: It forced Gen Z to make their very first phone call,” Lydic said. “And you know Congressmen must have been pissed at teenagers blowing up their phones all day. I mean, well, Matt Gaetz didn’t mind.”
The House bill, titled the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would require TikTok to sever itself completely from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a potential ban from mobile app stores and web-hosting services. The bill 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.
Lawmakers have long sought to place restrictions on TikTok, accusing the app and its parent company ByteDance of exploiting American user data on behalf of the Chinese government. Many Republicans, often the fiercest critics of Chinese influence in the U.S., chose to vote against the bill following opposition from Trump. The former president unsuccessfully attempted to ban the app while in office.