President Joe Biden will sign Potential TikTok Ban in the US

Joe Biden joined TikTok only 2 months back, and now is ready to sign a bill that could potentially ban TikTok. On April 23^rd US Senate approved a rather controversial bill that poses a ban on ‘Foreign Adversary controlled Applications’. The bill could result in TikTok ban in the US, if its China based parent company ByteDance fails to sell its stakes. The owner has been provided with a period of nine months to divest the popular short video app.

What Does the Bill Say?

The earlier version of the bill gave a period of six months to ByteDance to divest its stakes. Due to opposition from the lawmakers arguing it to be very short period for a complex deal.

The latest amendment increased the period to nine months and possible three months extension if the sell is in progress.

A wild selection of possible buyers is promoted. In the past, Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart have all shown an interest in TikTok. He is putting together a group of investors says Steven Mnuchin, a former Treasury secretary.

The Tik Tok legislation is a part of a $95 billion package of four bills that approves military aid to the US partners Indo-pacific- Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The bill got widespread support from lawmakers with 79 Senators voting for it and 18 against it.

Opponents of the bill counter saying, the Chinese government could easily get information on Americans in other ways, including through commercial data brokers that traffic in personal information.

The general public opposes the ban protesting how they earn their livelihood through videos on TikTok. Some argue, how the short video app helped them grow their small scale business.

Despite these oppositions the legistation is determined to get the bill approved leaving the choice to either divest the stakes or implementing a ban on the app.

The Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, stated, “For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously short-sighted.” The Chinese owner of the app will have to sell it according to a new law. It’s a wise step for America, he continued.

TikTok’s Chief Executive, Shou Zi Chew, last month said the company will continue doing all including exercising all its legal rights to protect the platform.

A judge in Montana dismissed a state ban on TikTok in November last year on the grounds of Free Speech. Yet again the ban is set to face challenges. The 170 million users are again expected to take legal actions against the ban of the short video app.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “it would set an alarming global model for excessive control of government over social media platforms” if we outlaw TikTok or compel its divestiture.

“If United States now bans a foreign owned platform, that will invite copycat measure by other countries” they added.

In 2020, then president Donal Trump was refused by the courts to block TikTok and WeChat, a unit of Tencent, in US.

However the new legislation is determined to support the ban and thus Biden administration if ByteDance fails to divest the app, experts say.

Thus facing the ban TikTok will be completely removed from app store operated by Apple, Google’s play stores and would not legally offer TikTok.

However with the ban the bill raises concerns of possibilities of power abuse by future administrations to violate Americans’ First Amendment Rights, says Democratic Senator Ron Wyden as it gives White House a new tool to ban or force the divest of other foreign-owned apps in the name of security threats. Once the bill is signed ByteDance will have nine months to divest TikTok’s US operations. Democratic Senator Ed Markey said it would be most complicated and expensive transactions in the history that takes upto months if not years due to its complexity.