Despite not being able to agree on many issues these days, Democrats and Republicans have teamed up to present bipartisan legislation banning TikTok in the US.

Representatives from both the House of Representatives (Senate) and the House of Representatives have voiced their opposition to what they see as a threat for national security.

These concerns were expressed in a bill that Republican Senator Marco Rubio did not unveil. It would prohibit “any social media company located in, or under influence of” China and other foreign hostile countries including Russia.

It would place TikTok at risk of an outright ban. A nuclear option was attempted by Donald Trump to ban the former president. This was due to alleged links with the Chinese government.

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ByteDance is the owner of TikTok, which is located in Beijing.

However, as the most downloaded app in the US (more than 100,000,000 and one billion respectively), would politicians be willing to remove it from the smartphones of their citizens?

How would the US enforce an embargo?

According to the announcement by Mr Rubio President Joe Biden could impose Sanctions on TikTok, and other social media companies, in order to stop them from operating commercially in the US.

The year 2022 is coming to an end, so the bill won’t likely be presented to Congress until next Year. However, its prospects in Congress are bolstered by Republican gains in the midterms.

The bill would be sent to the Senate if it is passed by the House.

However, Dr Evan Lawrence, senior lecturer on international relations at the University of Central Lancashire doubts that the legislation will get this far.

Sky News: “Technically, you can [ban TikTok], however it’s not all that helpful,” she said.

“Often, legislation like this is used to negotiate – it’s actually not meant to go anywhere. Instead, it puts it on media and public radar so they can have a better negotiation position.”

For some time, the US government has been in discussions with TikTok’s parent about regulation. A spokesperson for TikTok stated that they are “confident” it will “fully satisfy all reasonable US security concerns”.

What are these ‘national security concerns?

The anti-TikTok rhetoric is picking up since the end of midterms. Chris Wray, FBI director, warned that TikTok’s US operations pose national security risks.

Indiana filed a lawsuit against TikTok earlier this month. It alleged deception by its users regarding China’s access their data.

Governors in Texas, Maryland and South Dakota ordered state agencies to ban TikTok from government-issued devices.

Dr Lawrence stated that regulation of federal devices was “not a bad idea” in light of concerns about foreign interference in American elections. However, it is not clear if the public could benefit from such regulation.

A Trump-era idea could make a comeback.

Trump suggested to ByteDance that it sell its American operations towards the end of his presidency to a US firm like Microsoft.

Although Mr Biden rescinded his predecessor’s order in that regard, he requested a review by the government of foreign-owned apps. This review is still ongoing nearly a year later.

Thomas Walters, the founder of Billion Dollar Boy global influencer agency, stated that Mr Trump’s proposal to sell off was “the most likely outcome”.

Sky News: “If this bill gets genuine bilateral support, then it will happen,” he said.

“But an outright ban, like the one in India, is much less likely.

TikTok is loved by young people and marketers.

What’s TikTok got to say about

TikTok continued to deny the concerns, insisting that its US operation is independent from its parent company and American users data are safe.

A spokesperson described Mr Rubio’s legislation as a “politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States”.