The US Senate voted overwhelmingly late Tuesday in favor of legislation that would ban TikTok in the United States if its owner, Chinese tech firm ByteDance, fails to divest the popular short video app within the next nine months to a year.
Driven by widespread concerns among US politicians that China could use the app to access Americans’ data or spy on them, the bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday, and President Joe Biden has stated that he will sign it into law on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
TikTok plans to contest the bill on First Amendment grounds, and TikTok users are also anticipated to take legal action.
The bill would also give the White House new authority to prohibit or force the sale of other foreign-owned apps that it considers to be a security threat.
Ariel Ben Solomon is the Growth and Strategy manager at Ecomhunt. He is the host of the Ecomhunt Podcast. Can be followed on Twitter at @ArielBenSolomon
