Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if Chinese parent company, ByteDance, refuses to sell the platform within a certain time period. This would effect the current 170 million American users on the app.
After final updates were made to the March bill, the House voted in favor of it on Saturday. Following the 360 to 58 House vote, it was up to the Senate to pass their judgement next. On Tuesday, April 23rd, the Senate approved the ban with a majority vote. The final decision now falls on President Biden, who has previously stated he’d approve the bill so long as it passed in the House and the Senate.
What revisions were made to the March TikTok bill?
The language regarding the TikTok ban has been inserted into a foreign aid package to expedite its approval and persuade the Senate to vote in its favor.
When will President Biden vote on the bill?
President Biden is expected to sign the TikTok ban into legislation sometime this week.
What will happen if President Biden approves the bill?
If President Biden supports the bill, which is the expected outcome, ByteDance will have 270 days (nine months) to sell TikTok. If ByteDance does not divest in the allotted time, U.S. users could be denied app access as soon as January 2025.
Why was this TikTok ban bill created?
Lawmakers created the TikTok ban bill for national security protection. Some officials fear that U.S. users’ data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government if they pressed ByteDance with intelligence laws.
How is TikTok responding?
TikTok has threatened to challenge the U.S. government in court if it gets Biden’s approval. The head of TikTok’s public policy in the Americas described the bill as “an unprecedented deal” that he promises to fight.
What does this mean for U.S. TikTok users right now?
For now, U.S. users can continue using the app. If Biden approves and ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok, the app would no longer be found on U.S. app stores. Thus, there would be no new downloads of the app in the U.S. and current users would’t be able to update the app—eventually making it outdated and unusable. Even so, no change would occur until the first few months of 2025.