WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of

Representatives plans to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would

give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest

the U.S. assets of the short-video app used by about 170 million

Americans or face a ban.

The vote is expected around 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) under

fast-track rules that require support by two-thirds of House

members for the measure to pass. It is widely expected to pass,

according to both proponents and opponents.

The vote comes just over a week since the bill was proposed

following one public hearing with little debate, and after

action in Congress had stalled for more than a year. Last month,

President Joe Biden's re-election campaign joined TikTok,

raising hopes among Tiktok officials that legislation was

unlikely this year.

The measure is the latest in a series of moves in Washington

to respond to U.S. national security concerns about China, from

connected vehicles to advanced artificial intelligence chips to

cranes at U.S. ports.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week voted 50-0

in favor of the bill, setting it up for a vote before the full

House.

But the bill faces a more uncertain path in the U.S. Senate

where some senators favor a different approach to regulating

foreign-owned apps that could pose security concerns. Senate

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not indicated how he plans to

proceed.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday

on a previously scheduled trip to talk to senators, a source

briefed on the matter said.

"This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total

ban of TikTok in the United States," the company said. "The

government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their

Constitutional right to free expression," it added.

Biden said last week that he would sign the bill.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on

Tuesday the goal was ending Chinese ownership, not banning

TikTok.

"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?" he said.

It is unclear whether China would approve any sale or if

TikTok's U.S. assets could be divested in six months.

If ByteDance failed to do so, app stores operated by Apple ( AAPL )

, Alphabet's Google and others could not

legally offer TikTok or provide web hosting services to

ByteDance-controlled applications.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump sought to ban

TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat but was blocked by the courts.

In recent days he had raised concerns about a ban. It remains

unclear if Tencent's ( TCTZF ) WeChat or other high-profile

Chinese-owned apps could face a ban under the legislation.

Any forced TikTok divestment from the U.S. would almost

certainly face legal challenges, which the company would need to

file within 165 days of the bill being signed by the president.

In November, a U.S. judge blocked a Montana state ban on TikTok

use after the company sued.