WASHINGTON – The US Senate on Tuesday approved a law aimed at forcing a change of ownership of popular video-sharing social media app TikTok.
The US Senate approved the bill with 79 votes in the 100-seat upper chamber. It will now head to US President Joe Biden, who has made it known that he would sign it into law should it reach his desk.
At that point China’s ByteDance group, which owns the app, will have up to one year to divest itself of TikTok. Were the service to remain in the possession of the group, the law would lead to TikTok being banned from US app stores, according to German news agency (dpa).
The measure was passed as part of a broader bill also including a Ukraine weapons aid package.
Sceptics of the measure point out that the law will likely spend years in the courts, saying it is sure to be challenged on free speech protections enshrined in the US Constitution.
In Washington, there have been fears for years about ByteDance’s access to user data.
Some cybersecurity experts say the data could be used by Beijing to spread propaganda in the United States, spy on users and exercise other forms of influence.
TikTok, which says it has 170 million US users, rejects concerns and emphasises that it does not see itself as a subsidiary of a Chinese company. ByteDance is 60% owned by Western investors. The company is based in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean.
Critics counter that with a share of 20%, the Chinese founders have control thanks to higher voting rights and that ByteDance has a large headquarters in Beijing. – April 24, 2024