Why people think the US bill to ban TikTok is linked to pro-Palestine content

After a bill in US Congress was overwhelmingly passed to ban the social media app TikTok, social media users outraged online and linked the move to pro-Israel groups trying to curb the surge of pro-Palestinian content on the platform.

The bill, which passed in the House by a 352-65 vote, requires that TikTok be sold to an American company or face a ban in the US.

To become law, it still needs to be passed by the Senate, which the Biden administration has been pushing to happen quickly.

The legislation was the culmination of a year-long effort and has been largely attributed to lawmakers with hawkish views on China. TikTok was created by ByteDance, a company that was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. While the app is owned by TikTok LLC, a company headquartered in the US, TikTok's ownership falls under ByteDance.

While US opposition to China helped launch the bill, journalists, experts, and social media users pointed to several issues since October that they say show pro-Palestinian content was a part of the issue behind the bill's resurgence.

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