TikTok
TikTok to be banned in US after House passes bill
The US House of Representatives passed a bill compelling TikTok‘s parent to either sell the app or face a US ban.
Representatives approved the delivery of $60.8 billion (£49 billion) in foreign aid to Ukraine and funds for Israel and Taiwan, which contained the TikTok law.
Newsng gathered that in response to national security concerns raised by both Democrats and Republicans regarding the app’s owner, the Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd., a stand-alone bill with a shorter, six-month selling limit passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.
After discussions, the amended bill was approved by a vote of 360 to 58 and now heads to the Senate.
During that time, the corporation will now have nine months to sell, plus an extra three months if a deal is already underway.
Legal disputes may cause that period to be extended even more.
The firm has stated that should the law pass, it will probably file a lawsuit to try and stop it, claiming that millions of app users would lose their First Amendment rights.
In a statement, TikTok said: “It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again 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 $24bn (£19bn) to the US economy, annually.”
“We will not stop fighting and advocating for you,” Shou Zi Chew said in a video on the platform last month that was directed at the app’s users.
“We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you.”
We earlier reported that the European Commission stated on Wednesday that TikTok has 24 hours from the release of its new app, TikTok Lite, in France and Spain to submit a risk assessment, citing worries about the programme’s potential negative effects on children and users’ mental health.