JeneliaIf the China-based company ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok, the US could ban the platform. This bill is almost certain to become law after the Senate passed a foreign aid package that includes it.
It is now on its way to President Joe Biden, who has already said he will sign the TikTok bill if it passes both houses of Congress. The TikTok bill was part of a package of bills that the House passed on Saturday.
Once the bill is passed by the president, ByteDance would have up to a year to sell TikTok or the app would be banned in the US. The bill sets up ByteDance for nine months. If talks for a deal get better, the president can extend it for another three months. Still, court battles could make implementation take longer.
The Senate vote came together thanks to smart political moves in the House, which has now voted twice to pass the TikTok bill. The first time, the bill was brought to the House as a stand-alone measure with a shorter six-month selling period. It was passed by a large majority of members. But important Senate leaders didn’t say anything about its future in that body.
By putting the TikTok problem in the high-priority foreign aid package, the House pretty much pushed the Senate to talk about it sooner than they would have otherwise. Adding more time to the deal-making process also won over more senators. The bill was approved 79 to 18.
Lawmakers and security officials are worried that the fact that a Chinese company owns TikTok. It could put the data of its US users at risk. That’s mostly because of a law in China about national security that can force companies based there to hand over information about their own employees. TikTok is based in Singapore, and the company says it does not store information about US users in China. Some politicians were also concerned that the Chinese government could change the messages that people in the US see. They thought that TikTok’s effort to get people to call Congress and reject the bill only made those worries worse.
It’s not Congress’s job to punish ByteDance, TikTok, or any other company, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said on the Senate floor before the vote. Congress is taking action to stop our enemies from spying on, surveilling, and carrying out operations. That are meant to hurt vulnerable Americans. Our service members and women, and U.S. government workers.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) said, “The truth is that these Chinese companies don’t owe their duty to their customers or their shareholders at the end of the day. They owe it to the PRC government. It’s easy to see how a platform that makes it easier for so much business, political talk, and social debate could be secretly used to further the goals of an authoritarian regime. That has a history of censorship, transnational repression, and spreading false information, especially since so many Americans use these platforms.
Warner also said that Project Texas, TikTok’s first plan to address worries about its data control, wasn’t good enough. Warner said that Project Texas would still let TikTok’s formula, source code, and development work stay in China. “They would stay that way as long as ByteDance controlled them and the Chinese government could use them.”
“A lot of Americans, especially young Americans, are skeptical, which is understandable.” In the end, they haven’t seen what Congress has seen.
But he also talked about the worries of many young Americans who use TikTok and are afraid that this law will make it go away. Warner told everyone, “I want to make it clear: this is not an attempt to silence you.” “A lot of Americans, especially young Americans, are skeptical, which is understandable.” In the end, they haven’t seen what Congress has seen. They haven’t been to the secret meetings that Congress has held. Where some of the threats that come from foreign control of TikTok were made more clear.
“But they have seen that Congress has not passed any real consumer protections for big tech,” Warner added. “They may see this as a distraction or, even worse, a give-in to U.S. social media platforms.” Those young Americans, I want you to know that we hear you. We also hope that TikTok will keep going with a new owner, whether they are American or not.
In a statement made soon after the bill passed the Senate, President Biden said, “I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow. So, we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week.”
Bloomberg says that TikTok told its workers that the company would go to court to fight the law if it passed.
Update April 23: An official White House comment has been added to the story.
Jenelia
