News Brief
United States' Congress Passes Legislation To Force China's ByteDance To Sell TikTok Or Face Ban On The App In US
TikTok
The United States Senate on Tuesday (22 April) passed a bill that mandates TikTok's parent company ByteDance to either sell the app or face a ban in the United States.
The legislation, which received a decisive 79-18 vote, now heads to President Joe Biden, who has indicated his intention to sign it into law.
The bill, which was earlier passed by the House as part of a broader foreign aid package, stipulates a one-year timeframe for ByteDance to divest TikTok.
Failure to comply will result in the app being removed from US app stores.
This legislative move aims to address concerns over the potential for user data to be accessed by the Chinese government, an accusation that TikTok has consistently denied.
TikTok’s head of public policy for the Americas, Michael Beckerman, announced plans to challenge the legislation legally.
In a statement, Beckerman argued that the bill infringes on the First Amendment rights i.e. freedom of speech, of the 170 million Americans who use the app.
“We’ll continue to fight, as this legislation is a clear violation of the first amendment rights of the 170 million Americans on TikTok,” he wrote.
Several states' level efforts to ban TikTok have been successfully defeated on the freedom of speech grounds in the US.
Earlier last year, a federal judge in Montana overturned a state-level TikTok ban, declaring it unconstitutional.
The bill's passage marks a significant chapter in the ongoing scrutiny of TikTok, which has been under fire from US lawmakers since gaining widespread popularity.
The platform was also targeted for a ban during Donald Trump's presidency, though the effort was ultimately unsuccessful.
In addition to the US, TikTok faced bans in other regions, including India, where the app was prohibited citing national security concerns.
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