US Congress passes bill banning TikTok, set to become law with president’s signature – CNN.co.jp

Washington (CNN) On the 23rd, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that could ban the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok throughout the United States. There are growing threats to TikTok’s U.S. operations.

The bill passed the Senate as part of a broader foreign aid package to support Israel and Ukraine. The House of Representatives passed it on the 20th. If US President Biden signs the bill, TikTok will be permanently banned from the US unless it finds a new owner within the next few months.

Below is a summary of the current situation and future impact on users in the United States.

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Contents of the TikTok ban bill

The bill requires Chinese internet giant ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to sell TikTok within 270 days. If TikTok cannot be sold, it will be banned from U.S. app stores and the internet hosting services that support TikTok.

This effectively means that new downloads of the app and interaction with the content will be restricted. If Biden signs it this week, the deadline for the sale would be January 2025. However, if Biden determines that progress has been made toward a sale, he could extend the deadline by 90 days.

Will Biden sign the bill?

The bill is part of a foreign aid package supported by Biden, so he is expected to sign it quickly. Mr. Biden supported the original TikTok bill introduced in March, so there is little reason to think he would oppose the latest version of the bill, which would give TikTok more time and allow the White House to assist with forced sales. do not have.

How does this affect app usage?

If ByteDance doesn’t find a buyer within 270 days after Biden signs the bill, users could lose access to TikTok by January next year.

Options available to TikTok

TikTok has vowed to sue the US government if Biden signs the bill. TikTok executives wrote in a memo to employees on Wednesday that the lawsuit challenges what the company calls unconstitutional legislation that censors Americans’ speech and harms small businesses that rely on the app. He said it was “the beginning, not the end” of a long process. In March, TikTok’s chief executive officer, Zhou Shui, declared that the company would continue to fight, “including by enforcing our legal rights.”

Will TikTok go to court?

Experts on the First Amendment, which provides freedom of expression, say the bill could be struck down by a court because it would ultimately have the effect of censoring TikTok users.

The expert said that by banning TikTok, the bill would violate Americans’ constitutional right to access information, ideas and media from abroad, but would offer no real reward. China and other foreign adversaries may still be able to buy sensitive information about Americans on the open market from brokers, it said.

What will happen if TikTok is sold?

TikTok’s parent company is subject to Chinese law, and the Chinese government reportedly opposes the sale.

China has implemented export controls governing algorithms in recent years, and the policy is expected to apply to the algorithms that power TikTok’s recommendation engine.

If the Chinese government doesn’t want ByteDance to give up TikTok’s algorithm, it could block the sale altogether. Or they could be allowed to sell without the algorithms underlying their popularity.

Can TikTok succeed without algorithms? Without the algorithm that attracted 170 million U.S. users, the app might be as good as dead.