The possibility of the US banning TikTok is moving one step closer to reality as the US House of Representatives passed a legislation to that effect, with bipartisan support of both Republicans and Democrats.

That legislation will now go to the Senate, and once passed and cleared by President Joe Biden, it would compel TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the app within 12 months, or alternatively face a ban.

The opposition to TikTok is gradually growing here in Australia too. Senator James Paterson and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, want the government to follow the US’ lead on the matter.

In Australia, the platform is already banned on government-issued devices, with Paterson and Dutton now calling for a nationwide ban.

Being a close ally of the US, and a major trading partner of China, this puts Australia in a vulnerable position.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says there are currently no plans to follow the US and ban TikTok. That position, however, could change the closer we get to the next federal election.

Credit: TikTok

Labour and Liberal politicians will need to assess the impact a potential ban could have on TikTok supporters, and the Chinese-Australian community too.

A recent report found that TikTok contributed A$1.1 billion to the Australian total GDP, supporting 13,000 jobs for the financial year ending 2023.

TikTok revealed in June last year, that it had 8.5 million Australians on the platform, as well as 350 businesses, and 250 employees.

The report also found TikTok advertising and marketing generated $1 billion in direct revenue for the country.

Concerns around TikTok stem from the platform posing potential national security risks, if the data it has is shared with another state. There are national security laws in China forcing organisations to help with assistance gathering. This could include TikTok’s owner ByteDance. TikTok has reiterated that it has never and will never share US data.

China has already banned several top social media and technology apps and platforms from operating in China. Last week, China forced Apple to remove WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store.

These were already banned in China. However, some users could still access the apps using VPNs.

Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Google are also banned in China.