Tik Tok

NPR -  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill this week that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, finds a buyer for the app. The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Lawmakers say the app poses a national security risk. But is that the case? Here's everything you need to know: 

To date, lawmakers have not offered any evidence of the Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans or push pro-China propaganda.  

Critics of the ban say it would be ineffective because China can easily obtain information about Americans through data aggregators and data brokers. 
Still, ByteDance admitted in 2022 that former employees — not government officials — have used the app to surveil Americans. 
TikTok says Americans' data is transferred to servers owned by an Austin-based company and monitored by U.S. third-party auditors. But under Chinese law, companies still have to turn over personal user data if government officials seek it.