- The House has voted in favor of a bill that could result in a US ban on TikTok.
- The bill would force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell to a U.S. company or face a ban.
- The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass.
The House advanced legislation on Saturday that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States.
The bill requires TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to obtain U.S. ownership within about a year or face a nationwide ban. Previous versions of the legislation gave ByteDance just six months to find a new owner.
To expedite the bipartisan legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson combined it with a bill authorizing the United States to confiscate Russian assets, then bundled it into a package containing bills to aid to Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine, all of which have been delayed for months. amid infighting in Congress.
This package of bills will go to the Senate in a few days, where it will likely pass. In February, the Senate approved a similar measure A package of 95.3 billion dollars this did not include the TikTok bill.
US politicians have been raising security concerns about TikTok for years because ByteDance is forced to share data with the Chinese government. TikTok has around 170 million users in the United States alone.
Towards the end of his presidency, former President Donald Trump sought to ban the app. He has since reversed the question, arguing that TikTok’s demise could strengthen Meta, Facebook’s parent company, which he called “the enemy of the people.”
President Joe Biden has signaled his intention to sign the bill next week if it passes the Senate. Although the legislation could result in a forced sale instead of a total ban, TikTok company management fears the worst and is expected to challenge it in court. Legal challenges could also come from TikTok users and creators.
“This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a complete ban on TikTok in the United States,” a ByteDance spokesperson said last month.
businessinsider
