US lawmakers pass bill possibly banning TikTok

The US Senate has passed a bill demanding that the social media app TikTok be removed from its Chinese parent company ByteDance within a year or face a ban from the American market. The legislation, part of a $95 billion foreign aid package, including military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, has now been approved by Congress and awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

US officials have raised concerns about TikTok's popularity, alleging that it allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. The platform has 170 million users in the United States alone. Critics claim TikTok is obedient to Beijing and a conduit for spreading propaganda. However, China and ByteDance strongly deny this.

The bill, passed by a 79-18 vote in the Senate, could result in the rare step of barring a company from operating in the US market. President Biden has stated his intention to sign the legislation, repeating his concerns about TikTok in a recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

TikTok criticized the bill after it passed the House, stating, "It’s unfortunate that lawmakers sought to jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy annually."

The newly passed legislation requires ByteDance to sell TikTok within a year, or the app will be removed from Apple and Google's app stores in the United States. Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has shown interest in purchasing TikTok and has formed a group of investors.

TikTok has been under scrutiny by US authorities for allowing potential spying by Beijing on American users. The bill passed by Congress also grants the US president the power to identify other apps as national security risks if they are controlled by countries considered hostile. They also argue that banning TikTok would violate freedom of speech.

TikTok, which has previously been successful in court challenges, has vowed to challenge the legislation in court. Meanwhile, TikTok content creators have voiced their concerns, gathering in front of the Capitol building to protest the bill.