TikTok could be banned in the United States if the social media app’s Chinese owner does not sell its stake after the House of Representatives voted in favor of the measure.
THE Tic Tac the legislation was included in a U.S. foreign policy package that saw representatives approves sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraineas well as money for Israel and Taiwan.
The package will now go to the US Senate, where it is expected to pass on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has said he would sign TikTok legislation once he reaches his desk.
If the bill becomes law, the owner of the popular video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a possible three-month extension while a sale is pending, or face a ban.
A previous bill passed by the House last month would have given owner ByteDance only six months to sell.
The company will likely try to challenge the law in court, arguing that it would deprive the app’s millions of users of their First Amendment rights, which protect free speech.
Such legal challenges could significantly delay the timetable set by Congress or prevent the law from taking effect.
The CEO of TikTok appealed directly to American users campaign to stop the bill.
“We will not stop fighting and defending your interests,” Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted on the platform last month and aimed at app users.
“We will continue to do everything we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this incredible platform we have built with you.”
The FBI has warned that TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with China’s authoritarian government.
TikTok said it has never done this and would not do it if asked.
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In 2022, Mr. Biden banned the use of TikTok by nearly four million federal government employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research.
The approved bill, including the TikTok legislation, would also allow the United States to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to help rebuild Ukraine and impose sanctions on Iran, Russia and China , as well as criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl.
TikTok could be banned in the United States if the social media app’s Chinese owner does not sell its stake after the House of Representatives voted in favor of the measure.
THE Tic Tac the legislation was included in a U.S. foreign policy package that saw representatives approves sending $60.8bn (£49bn) in foreign aid to Ukraineas well as money for Israel and Taiwan.
The package will now go to the US Senate, where it is expected to pass on Tuesday. President Joe Biden has said he would sign TikTok legislation once he reaches his desk.
If the bill becomes law, the owner of the popular video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a possible three-month extension while a sale is pending, or face a ban.
A previous bill passed by the House last month would have given owner ByteDance only six months to sell.
The company will likely try to challenge the law in court, arguing that it would deprive the app’s millions of users of their First Amendment rights, which protect free speech.
Such legal challenges could significantly delay the timetable set by Congress or prevent the law from taking effect.
The CEO of TikTok appealed directly to American users campaign to stop the bill.
“We will not stop fighting and defending your interests,” Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted on the platform last month and aimed at app users.
“We will continue to do everything we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this incredible platform we have built with you.”
The FBI has warned that TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with China’s authoritarian government.
TikTok said it has never done this and would not do it if asked.
Read more from Sky News:
Home Office to pay TikTok influencers urging migrants not to cross the Channel
How “TikTok idiots” are disrupting police investigations
In 2022, Mr. Biden banned the use of TikTok by nearly four million federal government employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research.
The approved bill, including the TikTok legislation, would also allow the United States to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to help rebuild Ukraine and impose sanctions on Iran, Russia and China , as well as criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl.