U.S. Efforts to Force the Chinese Owner to Sell TikTok

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Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “Raising Stakes, House Passes a TikTok Bill” (front page, March 14):

The bill passed by the House of Representatives would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American company in order to continue operating in the United States.

We understand that TikTok has inspired joy and creativity for millions of users. But we also know that the Chinese Communist Party has used similar technology in the past to steal sensitive information and make Americans less safe.

We simply cannot allow entertainment software — no matter how fun and engaging it may be — to compromise our national security. Therefore I support this bill and encourage ByteDance to divest, so that Americans can continue to enjoy TikTok with peace of mind.

Paul Bacon
Hallandale Beach, Fla.

To the Editor:

Re “TikTok Creators Travel to D.C. to Fight a Ban” (Business, March 15):

TikTok creators descended on Washington to fight for an app they claim changes lives. For them and a very select few this might be true, but what about most people who use the platform?

Kids spend hours glued to a screen while short clips of their peers living it up, some of them making millions doing it, are fed to them. This cannot be good for their mental health, and China’s limits on the app’s use by its own children confirms it.

I’m not an out-of-touch boomer trying to ban it, as one of the creators you interviewed said of those pushing for the bill. I have been freaking out about turning 30, and I understand how TikTok works. I just don’t think it’s a net positive, especially for developing brains.