TikTok users flood Congress with calls as potential ban advances in House

Platform sent alert to US users urging them to protest bill that would make its parent company divest from the app or face a ban

Lawmakers' offices have reportedly been flooded with calls from TikTok users speaking out against a bill that would force the platform's parent company to divest from the app or face a US ban.

The bill, which is backed by more than a dozen representatives, passed unanimously out of the House energy and commerce committee on Thursday with a vote of 50 to 0. TikTok responded by pushing out a notification to many of its estimated 170 million US users, calling on them to contact Congress in protest. The notification included a mechanism that allows people to search for their representative's number by inputting their zip code.