In addition to the foreign aid package, the Senate passed a bill that will prohibit TikTok if its owner, ByteDance, fails to sell it within a year. The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 79-18 on Tuesday, following the House’s overwhelming majority approval over the weekend.
To become law, the measure will require the signature of President Joe Biden. He plans to accomplish this on Wednesday, according to the White House.
Notably, the House passed a similar standalone measure in March to ban TikTok or compel its sale within six months. The Senate, nevertheless, never considered that measure. The bill in question entailed crucial foreign aid to Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine, thereby compelling the Senate to make a decision once again.
TikTok did not issue a statement immediately. Bloomberg reports that the organization’s chief of public policy for the Americas, Michael Beckerman, has stated that the organization intends to contest the action in court.
“We shall initiate a legal challenge in the courts upon the bill’s ratification,” he wrote earlier this week in a memo to the U.S. staff of TikTok.
Under the terms of the law, Bytedance has an additional nine months, or 90 days, to complete the transaction.
Last week, when the House passed the bill, TikTok stated that it was “unfortunate” that the House was cramming a prohibition measure that restricts the “free speech rights of 170 million Americans” under the guise of vital foreign and humanitarian assistance.
Despite managing TikTok from Singapore, China’s ownership of the social media platform has sparked concerns in the United States about the data of its citizens. TikTok has made repeated efforts through various campaigns to reassure the government that it does not transfer user data from the United States to China.
Additionally, TikTok has endeavored to demonstrate that the platform is indispensable for American creators and small enterprises. The organization disclosed an economic impact report earlier this month, which projected that TikTok contributed $14.7 billion to the revenue of small and medium-sized businesses across the nation. Additionally, over seven million U.S.-based enterprises rely on the platform, according to the report.
Civil rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have expressed opposition to the app’s prohibition. Additionally, creators expressed concern last month regarding the potential impact of a TikTok ban on their earnings.
Although Biden had previously voiced apprehensions regarding the app’s security, he joined TikTok in February—possibly to recruit youthful voters. Conversely, Donald Trump, during his presidency, advocated for sanctions against TikTok and has now organized an opposition to the ban.
