WASHINGTON: The US Senate decisively passed a bill to compel ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to divest its US operations within approximately nine months or face a ban, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature, which he intends to do on Wednesday.
Driven by concerns over potential Chinese access to Americans’ data or surveillance via the app, the measure, previously approved by the US House of Representatives on Saturday, received bipartisan support. Senator Marco Rubio, highlighting the dangers of allowing Chinese control over such a popular American app, expressed his approval, emphasizing the necessity of the new law.
TikTok, asserting its commitment to safeguarding US user data from Chinese government access, contends that the law effectively constitutes a ban, potentially violating users’ free speech rights. The company has signaled its intention to challenge the legislation in court, as revealed in an internal email sent over the weekend.
With a vote of 79 to 18, the Senate endorsed the bill, which was appended to a larger package providing predominantly military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
This legislative move echoes previous attempts, notably by former President Donald Trump, to restrict TikTok’s operations in the US, albeit thwarted by judicial intervention. However, legal experts anticipate that this new legislation will furnish the Biden administration with firmer grounds to enforce a ban if ByteDance fails to comply with the divestment mandate. Furthermore, it equips the White House with enhanced authority to address security concerns posed by other foreign-owned apps.
Under the legislation, ByteDance is granted 270 days, extendable by three months, to divest TikTok, a timeline deemed reasonable by Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell, who views it as offering an opportunity to enhance the platform. Nevertheless, Senator Ed Markey voices skepticism, citing the complexity and expense of executing such a divestment, foreseeing it as tantamount to a TikTok ban and cautioning against compromising free speech values.
