The House on Wednesday passed its version of a bill that would allow the President to ban the video app TikTok unless the Chinese company ByteDance divested the system. The move also shows a weakness in how many companies, including those in CRE, manage their marketing.

First, the news. The House vote was beyond "bipartisan," being 352 in favor, 65 against as representatives fretted about a perceived national security threat. "'Communist China is America's largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America's economy and security,'" Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement after the vote, warning that TikTok could be used to access American data and spread "harmful" information."

Whether the bill will become law is a different and more complex question. It might be that President Biden would sign it, but its fate in the Senate is more uncertain. "I think it's more than likely that we will take up their bill and amend it and say we've come up with some areas where we think it needs improvement," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said.