The possibility of a ban on TikTok in the US has moved a step closer after the Senate agreed a landmark bill to force its China-based parent company into selling the app.
The bill gives ByteDance nine months to sell the popular social media platform – with the possibility of a three-month extension to finalise a deal – or the app will be blocked.
The bill passed through the Senate on Tuesday as part of a larger $95bn (£76.2bn) package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
It will now be sent to US President Joe Biden, who will sign it on Wednesday.
However, the company will likely launch a legal challenge against the bill, arguing it will deprive the app’s 170 million US users of their First Amendment rights – which protect freedom of speech.
In a video on Wednesday, TikTok boss Shou Zi Chew said: “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere.
“The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.”
It could also face opposition from TikTok’s content creators who rely on the platform for their income, while China has previously said it would oppose a forced sale of the popular app.
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The bill is a culmination of long-held fears on both sides of the political spectrum in Washington over ownership of TikTok.
For years, politicians and officials in the US have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data.
TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked.
Why is TikTok facing a US ban?
Attracting around 170 million US users in seven years, TikTok has taken America by storm. But there have long been concerns in Washington about the China-based ownership of the social media platform.
Beijing-based tech firm ByteDance originally launched the Chinese version of the app called Douyin, meaning “shaking sound”, in 2016. They followed up with an international version – TikTok – in November 2017.
Since then, the platform has had a meteoric rise. Fuelled by its popularity among Gen-Z, it has become an influential social media platform. But it has become a target for both sides of the political spectrum in Washington, as well as in other Western countries, due to fears over the use of user data.
Politicians and officials in the US have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over US user data. TikTok has said it has never done that and would not do so if asked. There are also fears over influence on Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok.
The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. A similar ban is also in place for civil servants in the UK.
India was the first country to ban TikTok in 2020 following a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Interestingly, TikTok is also not available in app stores in China – where the internet is tightly controlled by the state – and Douyin is used instead.
Last month, TikTok’s chief executive appealed to US users directly to stop the bill forcing the app’s sale and accused lawmakers in the US of attempting to shut down the platform. In a video posted on the platform, Shou zi Chew told users the bill “will lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States”, adding: “Even the bill’s sponsors admit that’s their goal.”
The use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies is already banned in the US, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes.
Read more from Sky News:
What does bill mean – and could same happen in the UK?
How ‘TikTok idiots’ are disrupting police investigations
TikTok CEO appeals to users to oppose potential US ban
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell said the move to force TikTok’s sale was not aimed at “punishing” ByteDance, TikTok, or other companies.
“Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our US government personnel,” she said.
Sky News has contacted TikTok for comment.
Moves to block TikTok reflect growing distrust in China
Policymakers around the world say that user data is at the heart of their concern about TikTok.
The video-sharing app has already been banned in a number of countries including India, which was previously one of its biggest markets, and it is now one step closer to being forced out of the United States.
But TikTok is not the only app to collect data like users’ location, device, and what content they engage with. This is common across a number of social media companies, the biggest of which are headquartered in the US.
The difference when it comes to TikTok is that it is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, and moves to block it reflect a growing distrust in China among American officials.
US officials believe there are security concerns regarding the use of data on TikTok’s 170 million US users.
The legislation passed by the US Senate and House of Representatives would force the company to divest and dilute its links to China if it is to continue to operate in the country.
TikTok bosses have said the company would not provide data on its foreign users to the Chinese government, and said the US move to ban the app is an affront to free speech in the country.
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