The U.S. Senate has taken a decisive step in the ongoing saga of TikTok’s separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In a landmark decision, the Senate passed a multi-billion dollar package that includes foreign aid and legislation mandating TikTok’s separation within a year or face a national ban. President Biden wasted no time in signing the bill into law the very next day.
Prompted by national security concerns, the bill gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible extension of three months if a sale is in progress. This means that TikTok has a maximum of one year to comply with the order before facing a ban. However, TikTok will remain available throughout this year’s election cycle, with the earliest possible ban starting in January 2025.
The bill’s journey to becoming law was not without obstacles. An earlier version passed the House of Representatives in March but stalled in the Senate. To increase the chances of success this time, lawmakers incorporated the TikTok bill into a high-priority $95 billion package. The strategy paid off, with the Senate voting 79-18 in favor of the bill.
TikTok has vehemently denied allegations of sharing American data with China and is gearing up for a legal battle. The company’s head of public policy for the Americas, Michael Beckerman, has stated that they will challenge the bill in court. Additionally, TikTok is currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission over its data access practices.
As the clock ticks on TikTok’s future in the U.S., the battle between national security concerns and free speech rights is set to intensify in the coming months.