Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

We're still hearing speeches from politicians in the House of Representatives.

In a heated and brief speech, Texas Republican Chip Roy - one of the bill's co-sponsors - warns that it should be supported in light of a "Cold War" between the US and China.

He notes that it isn't without precedence, with the operations of Huawei and China Telecom being controlled in the US because of a "determination" that they posed a national security concern.

"We should fight them here and stop apologising for the Chinese Communists," he says.

While still sparse, more lawmakers have entered House and are now on the floor.

Nancy Pelosi was just on the Republican side of the room, speaking quietly to Republican lawmakers including Roy.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

TikTok is a short form video app that, like YouTube, allows people to post, share and comment on videos.

These can range from three seconds to three minutes in length, and users can easily edit their clips using filters, stickers, music and visual effects.

Depending on their age and where they live, some users can live stream video content to their followers, as well as support their favourite creators with digital gifts or subscriptions.

TikTok Shop, the platform's dedicated online store, allows users to buy products including those featured in creators' videos.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Us government

We've just heard from Marjorie Taylor Greene, the staunchly conservative and controversial Georgia Republican. She's against the bill.

In her remarks, Greene decries her own social media ban, and says it was evidence of the way that a ban could harm the free speech of Americans.

"This was not by a company owned by China," she says. "This was an American owned Twitter."

She argues that the bill "can cause future problems" and "open Pandora's box" without addressing the greater issue of US competition with China.

Notably, Greene is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, who has also spoken out against the bill.

Image source, Getty Images

Born and raised in Singapore, the 41-year-old attended an elite school with a strong Chinese heritage and is fluent in both English and Mandarin. He was an officer in the island country's armed forces - a prestigious posting - while serving his military conscription.

Shou Zi Chew obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from University College London before heading to Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA and also interned at social media giant Facebook while it was still a start-up.

Chew played a significant role at Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, where he was its chief financial officer and international business president, and shepherded it through its public listing in 2018.

He jumped ship to ByteDance - TikTok's parent company - in March 2021, becoming the first person to fill the role of chief financial officer at the media giant.

Just two months later, he became TikTok's CEO, in the wake of his predecessor Kevin Mayer's abrupt resignation.

• Read more about Chew here

Let's bring you some fresh remarks from the debate which is ongoing inside the House of Representatives chamber.

"First of all this is not a ban on TikTok," Democrat Nancy Pelosi says as she admits she sees "the entertainment value" of the app.

"It is an attempt to make TikTok better."

Image source, US government

A rare moment of 'respectful' bipartisanship in the Housepublished at 13:48 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March

13:48 GMT 13 March

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

In recent months the House of Representatives has, for the most part, been plagued by infighting - both between Democrats and Republicans and between different factions within the Republican Party.

Today's vote, however, represents a rare moment in which the bulk of representatives agree.

That's not lost on the lawmakers, either. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi just noted how odd it was to hear a "respectful debate" on the floor.

"This [TikTok] is controlled by the Chinese Communist government," she said, listing a number of issues including its treatment of the Uyghur community and Hong Kong demonstrators.

Even some of the Republican lawmakers who most often support former President Donald Trump's policies have pushed the bill, despite his opposition.

Among them is Texas Republican Chip Roy, one of the bill's co-sponsors, who earlier told reporters that Trump's opposition is not "weighing on my mind".

Only one lawmaker, Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, has so far today voiced his opposition.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

TikTok sent out push alerts last week to countless users urging them to call their representatives in Congress to deliver the message to "stop a TikTok ban".

The effort resulted in a deluge of phone calls to lawmakers, with TikTok users expressing everything from anger to confusion.

The push alerts contained direct links for users to call representatives in their districts - one congresswoman told the BBC she received over 900 calls about the app, many of them from "school-aged children".

But the strategy may well have backfired. One lawmaker told the Washington Post that TikTok's mobilisation effort “ended up convincing a number of members from being 'lean yeses’ to ‘hard yeses’”.

Trump's change of course over TikTok banpublished at 13:43 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March

13:43 GMT 13 March

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Legislation targeting TikTok, which appeared to be cruising toward approval in the House of Representatives, has a new, formidable opponent: Donald Trump.

The former president, who while in office unsuccessfully tried to ban the social media service, changed course last week in a post on his Truth Social website.

He said a ban, which the House bill would impose if the service’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, didn’t sell TikTok, would boost other social media sites including Facebook, which he blames for contributing to his 2020 presidential re-election defeat.

“I think Facebook has been very bad for our country, especially when it comes to elections,” he said in a television interview on Monday.

Trump may also be sensitive to the fact that millions of young Americans enjoy TikTok.His continued backing of a ban could anger them as he is campaigning for another White House term. A prominent Republican donor, Jeff Yass, is also a major investor in ByteDance and reportedly lobbied the former president to reconsider his previous position on TikTok.

Trump has considerable influence among House Republicans. His change of heart could erode some support for the pending legislation, although with broad bipartisan backing the measure still may clear the House. Its fate in the Senate, however, is now even more uncertain.

For many years the Chinese-owned company has faced questions over the security of users' data, and its links to the government in Beijing.

Like many other social media apps, TikTok collects data from users, but it has faced additional scrutiny over how much it gathers and who can access it.

It collects names, ages, phone numbers, email addresses and photos.

In particular critics fear that the information could fall into the hands of the Chinese government - something TikTok and ByteDance have strenuously denied could happen.

TikTok has repeatedly sought to distance itself from its Chinese owners, and has tried to reassure regulators with initiatives such as "Project Clover", which started storing European user data locally.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I've just arrived on Capitol Hill and stepped onto a viewing area overlooking the House of Representatives.

Somewhat surprisingly - at least for me - the atmosphere here is fairly muted today.

At the moment, only a handful of lawmakers are on the floor to deliver and hear brief one-minute speeches on the topic.

Only three reporters, including myself, are in the press gallery overlooking the floor.

Among them is Marjorie Taylor Greene, sitting by herself on a row near Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie - one of only a few lawmakers that it against the TikTok bill.

Unless things change, the vote is expected to take place sometime between 09:50 ET (13:50GMT) and 10:10 ET (14:10 GMT), according to the office of Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

Image source, Reuters

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Donald Trump's position on TikTok seems to have changed over time.

The former president is encouraging Republicans to abandon the bill banning TikTok, warning it would empower Facebook - a social media platform he has called "the enemy of the people".

"I'm not looking to make Facebook double the size," Trump recently told CNBC. "I think Facebook has been very bad for our country."

His support to keep TikTok alive in the US defies his previous position on the Chinese-owned app - and counters his typical tough-on-China stance.

In 2020, Trump pushed to force a ban or sale of TikTok but federal courts ruled the US had not adequately proved that the app was a national security threat the way Republicans had claimed.

Image source, Reuters

Bernd Debusmann Jr
US reporter

China has warned that a proposed ban on TikTok would "come back to bite" the US, ahead of the congressional vote that could lead to the app being banned.

The bill in the House of Representatives would force the Chinese-owned app to sever ties with China or become unavailable in the US.

Ahead of today's vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the US of "suppressing TikTok" despite the fact that it "never found evidence that TikTok threatens national security."

As is the case with other social media platforms, TikTok is banned in China. Users in the country use a similar app, Duoyin, which is only available in China and subject to monitoring and censorship by the government.

• Read more here

The House vote on the bill - officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act - is expected to take place today at 10am ET(1400 GMT).

If successful, it would require ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months, or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting platforms.

It's widely expected to pass, with bipartisan support from both sides of the political spectrum.

The bill would then head across Capitol Hill to the Senate, where it is unclear if it has enough support to pass.

If it does, the White House has said that President Joe Biden will sign it into law.

Emily McGarvey
Live editor

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.

The US House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bill that could force TikTok’s parent company to sell the app, or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting platforms.

President Joe Biden has said he will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.

American authorities have previously tried to limit access to the app, citing national security risks.

The vote is expected at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT). Our reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr is at Capitol Hill, and we’ll have live updates on the vote from our writers in Washington and London. Stay with us.