The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban TikTok from U.S. app stores unless Chinese company ByteDance divests itself from the popular social media company within six months.

The move follows months of threats and speculation in Washington about the possibility of such an ultimatum as concerns from lawmakers over data privacy and national security surrounding the app escalate.

The final vote of 352-65 signaled broad bipartisan support for the effort in the lower chamber. But the bill, which still needs to pass the Senate and get President Joe Biden's signature to become law, faces an uncertain path in the upper chamber. 

“The possibility of CCP interference and control of the algorithm is what we are trying to address with this bill,” Chairman of the select committee investigating the Chinese Communist Party Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who is the lead author of the bill, told reporters following the vote. 

Gallagher also pushed back on the idea that Wednesday’s vote was an “outright ban,” arguing the bill first attempts a divestiture of ByteDance from TikTok. 

“I have no problem with continued dance videos or even political campaigning on TikTok, so long as the ownership structure changes,” he said. 

Lawmakers have repeatedly expressed uneasiness about the potential for the Chinese government to access the data of TikTok users, including the 170 million in the U.S. 

U.S. leaders have warned about a 2017 Chinese law that compels companies to work with the government and turn over data that is relevant to national security.  

“With data and with access to your app that you are addicted to, you can vastly manipulate an entire population which the Chinese have done already,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas told reporters on Wednesday. 

TikTok has pushed back on such an assertion, including the app's CEO Shou Zi Chew, who insisted during a House hearing nearly a year ago that ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. 

Fifteen Republicans and 50 Democrats opposed the legislation on Wednesday, with one member voting present.

A handful of prominent House progressives, including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Ro Khanna of California, voted against the measure. A few well-known members of the House GOP’s right flank, such as Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida also voted it down. 

“I voted no to what I see as a banning of an app that is very, very popular in my district, that my constituents are actually making money on this app,” Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., told Spectrum News following Wednesday’s vote. “I think that we need to take an approach, a holistic approach, about if we are concerned about having influence in our election, if we are concerned about security issues, then we need to take a look at all of the applications, not just one.”

In a statement, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee,  Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said he voted no due to concerns the move was inconsistent with America’s “commitment to freedom of expression.” 

“As Ranking Member of the Intelligence Committee, I have more insight than most into the online threats posed by adversaries,” Himes said in the statement. “But one of the key differences between us and those adversaries is the fact that they shut down newspapers, broadcast stations, and social media platforms. We do not.” 

“The legislation that the House just passed is targeted not at speech but at data collection and it is a government ownership rule with respect to foreign governments and foreign corporations, it's not targeted at speech,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., argued to reporters after the vote. 

“We are legislating in a new land with respect to apps and social media,” he added. 

The bill appears likely to face a rockier path in the Senate, where leaders have given little away about how it will fare in the upper chamber. 

"The Senate will review the legislation when it comes over from the House,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said in a statement following the bill’s passage in the lower chamber. 

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., hailed the bill's passage, saying in a statement: "We wereencouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, and look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law."

“I’m not sure that this is the answer but if the House passes a bill [I] look forward to joining that debate and discussion,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters ahead of the vote. 

TikTok has been loudly critical of the effort, something that did not quiet after Wednesday's action. 

“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it's a ban,” the TikTok wrote in a post on its X account, formerly known as Twitter, following Wednesday’s vote. “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.

Biden told reporters on Friday that he would sign the bill, despite his reelection campaign recently joining the platform in a bid to reach younger voters. 

“If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” Biden said of the TikTok legislation. 

“Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China?  Do we want the data from TikTok -- children's data, adults’ data -- to be going -- to be staying here in America or going to China?” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday. “That is the fundamental question at issue here.” 

Biden already banned the social media app on federal government-owned devices with limited exceptions. It has also been banned on government devices in dozens of states.

Spectrum News' Cassie Semyon and Charlotte Scott contributed to this report