The House voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation that will force TikTok to separate itself from its parent company in China or be banned in the United States, a major step toward a crackdown motivated by fears that the popular social media company could be used for spying or manipulation by the Chinese Communist Party.

The House voted 352-65 on Wednesday to pass the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), would make it unlawful for app stores or web hosting services to provide services to social media applications owned and operated by the Chinese company ByteDance. This includes TikTok, which is one of the larger social media platforms in the U.S. If TikTok wants to continue operating within the U.S. after the act’s passage, it will have to separate itself entirely from ByteDance. While TikTok is presenting the legislation as a “complete ban” of the app, the bill’s author and supporters have emphasized that it is not a ban but merely an attempt to separate the app from Chinese influence.

“Our intention is for TikTok to continue to operate but not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party,” bill co-sponsor Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) said during debate.

The bill also gives the White House the power to designate other social media apps controlled by foreign adversaries — Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran. If designated, the companies will have to divest or be banned in the U.S.

Legislators and national security experts have heavily scrutinized TikTok for several years. They claim that the app is sharing U.S. user data with ByteDance and that the Chinese Communist Party could access this shared data due to the country’s national security laws. TikTok has attempted to address these claims by creating “Project Texas,” a $1.5 billion partnership with Oracle in which all American data from TikTok users is stored. There is evidence of TikTok spying on journalists and storing some U.S. user data in China.

Investigators have also determined that TikTok could be used to influence elections. “TikTok accounts run by a PRC propaganda arm reportedly targeted candidates from both political parties during the U.S. midterm election cycle in 2022,” a March 2023 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded.

President Joe Biden affirmed that he would sign the legislation into law if both the House and Senate passed the bill. It’s still unclear if the bill will have success Senate-side as a companion measure has not been introduced there yet. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has promised to block the measure, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

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Former President Trump opposed the bill, claiming that it would help Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg “double his business.” Other Republicans have spoken out against the bill due to allegations that it would stifle speech or violate Americans’ rights to free speech.

TikTok has responded by initiating a massive effort to try to convince those on the Hill that the legislation is unwise. This includes prompting American users through the TikTok app to call their representatives and urge them to vote no and sending out their lobbyists to convince the Senate to oppose the bill.