NEW YORK, March 13. /TASS/. The upper chamber of the US Congress, the Senate, must consider the consequences of banning TikTok for 170 million Americans before voting on the bill of the US House of Representatives, a social network’s spokesman said.

"We are hopeful that the [US] Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, seven million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service," the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives backed a bill on a potential ban of the TikTok social network. Lawmakers propose giving ByteDance, a company that now owns the social network, six months to sell it, otherwise TikTok could be banned in the US. The lower house of the US Congress also considers imposing the same restrictions on any "application controlled by adversaries" in the future.

The bill will now go to the US Senate for consideration. US President Joe Biden has previously said that he would sign the bill if lawmakers approved it.

The TikTok social network, which allows users to upload short videos, was launched globally in August 2018. Previously, US administration representatives said that the Chinese social network was a threat to the US that needed to be eliminated one way or another. According to Washington, Chinese authorities and intelligence services can use TikTok to collect information, including in the United States.