US authorities are planning to ban TikTok as Biden signs a measure into law

US authorities are planning to ban TikTok as Biden signs a measure into law

Fearing for national security, the US Senate has adopted a measure that might result in the American ban on TikTok.

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has nine months to sell its interest in the app or risk having it banned in the US.

US President Joe Biden will now receive the measure, and he has promised to sign it into law as soon as it hits his desk.

TikTok informed the BBC that it would not be responding to the change right away. Bytedance has previously said that it will fight any effort to pressure it into selling TikTok.

Doug Calidas, a digital specialist at Harvard University's Belfer Center, told the BBC, "It's a big deal."

"In the period of some time they managed to pass a law through both chambers which very rarely happens - watching them act so quickly on a matter of public concern."

China has promised to veto any such action, so even if the US is successful in pressuring ByteDance to sell TikTok, any purchase would still require Chinese government permission.

Information on the US effort to outlaw TikTok

Can the owner of TikTok afford to lose its game-changing app?

The process of blocking the app in the US might take many years due to legal action by ByteDance, which could potentially go all the way to the Supreme Court.

After then, the law gives the business nine months to sell TikTok, plus an extra three months of grace.

The issue of who could afford to purchase and run it also exists; given that the cost would probably be in the tens of billions, not many people would be interested in doing so.

The US claims that TikTok might be restricted in the nation if it is not marketed in a timely manner, since it is worried about the software being used for propaganda or espionage against Americans.

Like other applications, TikTok collects some types of data, but the US is worried that this information can end up in the hands of the Chinese government. The firm has consistently refuted these allegations.

Given that Facebook has more than 170 million users nationwide, US politicians may potentially encounter criticism from the public.

Assistance for Ukraine

The legislation was approved in conjunction with four other acts that contained military assistance for Taiwan, Israel, Ukraine, and other US allies in the Indo-Pacific area.

Legislators overwhelmingly supported it; just 18 senators voted against it out of 79 who cast ballots.

The leading Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, said, "For years we've permitted the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most downloaded apps in America that was dangerously short-sighted."

"The Chinese owner of the app will have to sell it according to a new regulation. It's a wise step for America, he continued.

TikTok has justified itself by citing worries over civil freedoms.

In a statement last week, the social media giant said that the law would "trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, as well as shutter a platform which provides $24 billion to the US economy, annually."

ByteDance "is not an agent of China or any other country," according to TikTok. ByteDance further maintains that it is not a Chinese company, citing the international investment groups that own 60% of the company.

A month ago, the company's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, said that it would keep doing all within its power, including using its "legal rights" to safeguard the platform.

After facing two grilling sessions by Congress in less than a year, Mr. Shou played down the app's and his own personal connections to Chinese officials.

The social networking site launched a significant lobbying operation in an attempt to mobilize opposition to the proposed prohibition.

Additionally, it prompted TikTok producers and users to voice their opposition to the measure.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the BBC that a protracted court struggle "could take about two years" to resolve.

Additionally, he said that any action taken against TikTok in the US may be further postponed if a buyer for ByteDance's share is not found within the allotted nine months.