US lawmakers are close to enacting legislation that would ban TikTok nationwide.
Last month, the House of Representatives by a wide margin passed a bill that would ban TikTok from being distributed in the United States unless ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, sells its ownership of the app within 165 days of enactment. On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new proposal to extend the divestment requirement to nine months, with the possibility of a 90-day extension, and the speaker, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-N.C.) (Washington State). The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee argued that the timeline for the sale was too short.
The revised TikTok ban is tied to broader legislation that would provide emergency aid to Ukraine and Israel. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Saturday, and if it passes, it will be moved to the Senate. President Biden has said he will sign the TikTok divestment and ban bill into law.
On Wednesday night, Cantwell said he supports amendments to the TikTok ban bill. “I am very pleased that Speaker Johnson and the House leadership have taken up my proposal to extend the ByteDance sale from six months to one year,” he said in a statement. “As I have said, an extension of the sale period is necessary to allow a new buyer sufficient time to complete the transaction. I support this latest bill.”
in statement On Wednesday evening, TikTok tweeted: “The House of Representatives is using critical foreign and humanitarian aid as a cover to once again block a ban that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans and destroy 7 million businesses. It's a shame,” he said. and shutting down a platform that contributes $24 billion a year to the U.S. economy. ”
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ByteDance is unlikely to sell its stake in TikTok, which would effectively make the app illegal in the United States. Chinese officials have said the government “firmly opposes” any forced sale of TikTok, which they seek to block under the country's technology export controls, which would “restrict investors from other countries, including China, to investments in the United States.” This is because it seriously undermines the trust of state. ”
Many U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have argued that China's communist regime could demand access to U.S. users' data or force TikTok to promote Chinese propaganda. recognizes TikTok as a national security threat. TikTok has repeatedly insisted that the Chinese government has never made such a request (and even if it did, TikTok would not comply), and ByteDance is 60% owned by a global investment firm. It says that it is represented.
If the ban on TikTok becomes law, it is expected to face legal challenges, including potentially from TikTok itself. Previous attempts to ban the app in the U.S. under former President Trump failed on First Amendment grounds, and the legal challenge was based not on actual evidence that TikTok shared data with Chinese authorities. This is because the court found that it posed only a hypothetical national security risk.
“We will never stop fighting for and advocating for you,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video message to the app's U.S. users on March 13. . “We will continue to do everything we can, including enforcing our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform we have built with you.” He also urged TikTok's U.S. users to “follow the Constitution. He called on U.S. senators to “make their voices heard.”
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