The United States Senate has passed a bill that requires TikTok, a Chinese-based company, to divest or face a ban on American shores.
ByteDance, the owner of the viral video social media platform, has been continuously scrutinized by U.S. politicians and rivals, but now the end seems nigh.
US Senate decides on TikTok ban
The clock seems to have run out for TikTok. President Biden agrees that the U.S. Senate ruling marks a marquee milestone for applications based and developed outside of America.
The President commented on the bill: “Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression.”
As we reported last month, the U.S. Senate received a disturbing FBI briefing on the app and its threat to American national security. The app was accused of being able to harvest personal data and was presumed to have powerful spying capabilities.
This security development catalyzed the bill’s passing and cemented the view of U.S. politicians that the app’s time was up. Passing the ban would involve the particulars being wrapped up in the President’s foreign aid bill, known as the National Security Package.
If the bill passes through both chambers of Congress President Biden has made his pledge public, saying “I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow.”
Once the bill is signed into U.S. law, TikTok’s owners, ByteDance, will have little under a year to sell the company or face a complete ban in America.
The United States isn’t the only region cracking down on TikTok as the European Commission (EC) has had concerns over the launched TikTok Lite. It was seen to have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the EC and was given a day to respond to challenges from senior European politicians.
Image: Ideograms.