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US President Joe Biden supports a law to ban TikTok. (Photo: AP)
UNITED STATES – TikTok's fate is hanging in the balance because a new law will force the Chinese company to sell it or be banned from operating in the US. In fact, before this law was passed, US President Joe Biden had expressed his support.
“If they pass it, I will sign it,” he said as reported by CBS News, Saturday (9/3/2024).
The legislation, called the “Protecting America from Apps Controlled by Foreign Adversaries,” introduced on March 5, 2024, would give TikTok a six-month deadline to divest from parent company ByteDance or face a ban in the US. The legislation passed Thursday in the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce committee with a 50-0 vote.
TikTok says the law is a vague attempt to force a total ban on its app. “This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban on TikTok in the United States,” the company said in a statement earlier this week.
“The government is seeking to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.”
The company also encouraged its millions of users to oppose the move. On Thursday, before the committee's vote on the legislation, TikTok sent a “Stop shutting down TikTok” notice to its users and encouraged them to call their representatives and ask them to vote against the legislation. “Tell Congress what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote NO.” This led to a flood of phone calls to offices on Capitol Hill.
It should be emphasized that this law has an equally influential opponent, namely former President Donald Trump. Although Trump also tried to force the sale of TikTok to US companies during his tenure, he has now changed his ways. “If you got rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck would double their business,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
While passing the House would be an important milestone for the legislation, it is unclear where the Senate stands. Some prominent senators appeared more cautious in their comments about whether they would support the legislation.
In addition to requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok or be banned in the US, the law “creates a process for the President to designate certain specifically defined social media applications that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary” and “pose a national security risk.”