TikTok could be banned in the US
After a vote in the Senate tied to foreign aid late on Tuesday, President Biden will sign into law a requirement for ByteDance to sell or divest its TikTok platform within a year.
The combination bill including a potential TikTok ban was approved first by the House of Representatives, and now also by the Senate. President Biden says he will sign it into law on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
“For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously shortsighted,” Senator Marco Rubio told Reuters. “A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America.”
The Senate voted 79 to 18 in favor of the bill. It was attached to the measure to provide $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
ByteDance has not yet commented publicly on the Senate’s approval of the legislation, or of President Biden saying he will sign it into law. However, Reuters reports that the company told TikTok staff that it will quickly protest the case in court.
