The US Senate has approved a controversial landmark bill that could exit of TikTok from the America soil. This is even as a bill is before the US President, Joe Biden to sign into law. And President Joe Biden, has said he will sign it into law as soon as it reaches his desk.
The United States has offered TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked.
According to BBC, TikTok has said that it did not have an immediate response to the development. Bytedance, the owner of TikTok had previously said it would oppose any attempt to force it to sell the app.
“If the US is successful in forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok any deal would still need approval from Chinese officials, BBC said.
But it has been revealed that Beijing has vowed to oppose any such move.
The report stated that the measure was passed as part of a package of four bills. The bills included military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other US partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
The bill had widespread support from lawmakers, with 79 Senators voting for it and 18 against, BBC revealed.
“For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America. That was dangerously short-sighted,” the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, said.
“A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America,” he added.
According to BBC, the fears that data about millions of Americans could land in China’s hands have driven Congressional efforts to split TikTok from the Beijing-based company.
But last week, the social media company said the bill would “trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans. It will also devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually.”
Recall that TikTok has said ByteDance “is not an agent of China or any other country”. And ByteDance insists it is not a Chinese firm, pointing to the global investment firms that own 60% of it.
ByteDance Chief Executive, Shou Zi Chew, had said last month that the company will continue to do all it can. Including exercising its “legal rights” to protect the platform.
BBC reports that Chew was grilled by Congress twice in less than a year. The Chief Executive had downplayed the app’s connection – and his personal links – to Chinese authorities.
“The social media platform made efforts to rally support against the potential ban, including a major lobbying campaign.
“It also encouraged TikTok users and creators to express their opposition to the bill.
Reacting to the ban, a University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told the BBC that a prolonged legal battle is likely to follow. And that “could take about two years”.
“He also said if a buyer for ByteDance’s stake is not found within the nine-month period, it could delay any action against TikTok in the US further.
Source: BBC
