US President Joe Biden signs bill to 'ban' Tiktok
Tiktok ban is almost official. The US President Joe Biden today (April 24) signed a bill into law to ban TikTok if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not divest the app within a year. The bill, which addresses national security concerns, grants ByteDance a nine-month window to sell its stake in TikTok. The bill was part of a broader package that included military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other US partners.
“The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier and it should’ve gotten there sooner. But in the end we did what America always does, we rose to the moment,” Biden said.
Biden signaled his intention to sign the bill into law after the US House of Representatives passed the proposal over the weekend. The Senate gave its approval on Tuesday, sending it to the US President for his signature. The Senate supported the TikTok ban bill with 79-18 vote.
The law now requires ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months — or a year, if Biden invokes a 90-day extension — or it will be banned in the US. The short-video sharing app is used by more than 170 million Americans.
"For years we've allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously short-sighted," said Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, as per BBC.
"A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America," he added.
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