US President Joe Biden signed a bill on April 24 that could ultimately ban TikTok. TikTok has indicated it is willing to fight in court.
Provided by: Ron Sachs/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The U.S. Senate passed the bill late on Wednesday with a vote of 79 to 18 as part of a $95 billion aid package for allies such as Ukraine and Israel. Under the bill, China’s ByteDance, which owns TikTok, would have at most one year to sell it to a buyer the U.S. government deems appropriate.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a post on TikTok on the 24th that he was “disappointed” to sign the bill and said he would fight the bill in court.
“Rest assured, we are not going anywhere,” Chew said. “We confidently continue to fight for your rights in court. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we will prevail again.”
In March, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless it is sold within six months, but it did not gain support in the Senate. The bill would extend that period to nine months, with the possibility of an additional three-month extension.
Lawmakers from both political parties have long said TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, is a national security threat and could be used by the Chinese government to monitor Americans or advance Chinese agendas. They have expressed concern that it could be used to spread false information. TikTok has consistently denied these allegations.
Experts say the unprecedented move faces legal challenges from free speech advocates, the technology industry and others, especially since there is no direct evidence of ties or surveillance with the Chinese government. There is no doubt that this is true.
This article was originally published by Red Ventures overseas and edited for Japan by Asahi Interactive.
