The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that, among other things, provides for a ban on TikTok in the country if China’s ByteDance does not sell the social network. This was reported by AP.
The document was part of a package of foreign aid, including to Ukraine. “79 senators voted in favor of it, and 18 voted against it.
The document has now been submitted for signature to US President Joe Biden, who said in a statement immediately after the law was passed that he would sign it on Wednesday, April 24.
As you know, in March, the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at banning the platform. According to the bill, ByteDance would have six months to sell the platform after the document comes into force. But it was delayed in the Senate.
So on April 20, the House of Representatives passed a new bill that includes a ban on TikTok in the country. It stipulates that ByteDance will have up to one year to sell the social network.
After the vote, TikTok released a statement saying that the bill would “trample” on freedom of speech.
According to many US lawmakers, TikTok poses a threat to US national security, as China could force the company to share the data of its 170 million US users.
