A bill that could ban TikTok is now certain to become law. The Senate voted 79-18 to approve a measure requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. draft law Act.
While far from the first attempt to ban or outlaw social media use, the bill managed to garner more support than previous attempts. The draft law has been submitted passed the House of Representatives together with bilateral agreement. A slightly modified version on Saturday as part of a package of foreign aid legislation.
Under the updated terms, TikTok will have up to 12 months to withdraw from parent company ByteDance or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting services. The company called the bill unconstitutional and said it would file a legal challenge to such a law, which could further delay the sale or ban.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TikTok has long been viewed with skepticism by lawmakers and the intelligence community. Before the House and Senate votes, members of Congress were briefed by intelligence officials on the national security threat the program allegedly posed. While some members of Congress have demanded details from the briefings, the exact nature of those concerns remains unclear. .
At the same time, some MPs of the possible threat posed by TikTok . Free speech and digital rights groups also oppose the bill, noting that comprehensive privacy legislation would be a more effective way to protect Americans’ personal information. TikTok CEO Shou Chew made a similar argument to Congress a forced sale will not address data concerns about the application.
But TikTok may have a last-ditch effort to oppose the bill . Lawmakers reprimanded the company for in-app shipping Alerts to users about the bill led to a flood of calls to congressional offices. And the application may have raised more doubts Politics last week, Chinese diplomats were lobbying congressional staffers to oppose the bill. There are officials in China measure. Chinese law passed It could prevent ByteDance from incorporating TikTok’s recommendation algorithm into the app’s sales.
