U.S. Senate passes TikTok divestment or ban bill, Biden will sign legislation

U.S. Senate passes TikTok divestment or ban bill Biden will sign legislation

Abstract: Due to widespread concerns among U.S. lawmakers that China may obtain Americans’ data or spy on them through TikTok, the bill has been quickly passed by the House and Senate and will be signed into law by U.S. President Biden.

Keywords: United States, Senate, TikTok, ByteDance, China, House of Representatives

[New Sancai Compilation and First Release] The U.S. Senate voted by a wide margin on the evening of April 23 to pass legislation that would require TikTok’s owner, Chinese technology company ByteDance, to divest itself of its stake in the popular short video app. Out of shares, the bill would ban TikTok in the United States.

The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on April 20 due to widespread concerns among U.S. lawmakers that China could obtain Americans' data or spy on them through the app, and U.S. President Biden said he would sign the bill on April 24. become law.

"For years we have allowed the Chinese Communist Party to control one of America's most popular apps, but this is dangerously short-sighted," said Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. "A new law would require Its Chinese owner is selling the app which is a good move for the United States."

The Senate voted 79 to 18 in favor of the bill, which comes with a measure to provide $95 billion in major military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The TikTok divestment directive received quick approval after being introduced a few weeks ago.

In 2020, then-President Trump tried to block TikTok and WeChat, a Chinese company owned by Tencent, but was blocked by the court. However, experts said that if ByteDance fails to withdraw from TikTok shares, the new legislation may provide the Biden administration with a stronger legal basis to ban TikTok.

The bill would also give the White House new tools to ban or force the sale of other foreign-owned apps it deems to pose a security threat.

Once the bill is signed into law, ByteDance will have 270 days to sell TikTok's U.S. operations, which could be extended by three months if there are signs the deal is progressing.

The bill could also become an issue in November's presidential campaign, with Republican presidential candidate Trump urging young voters to consider a possible TikTok ban.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)