TikTok is the hugely popular and influential short-form video hosting service which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The video sharing platform has quickly become a strong rival to Meta’s Instagram and the Snapchat platform. However, TikTok has attracted controversy in the western world due to privacy and security concerns. For example, many western leaders have expressed concerns over potential data collection by the Chinese government. These concerns have transitioned into an all-out campaign against TikTok, designated as a potentially dangerous tool of an adversarial foreign power.
Late on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the United States Senate passed a broad legislative package that delivers $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other US allies. Meanwhile, the bill includes a provision that could lead to a domestic ban on TikTok. The bill stipulates that TikTok could remain if the Chinese owner sells its stake within the year. The US House of Representatives has already approved the measure.
The passage of the Bill in the Senate was followed by a statement from President Joe Biden that he will sign the bill on Wednesday.
TikTok has said that it is “unfortunate” that US lawmakers have sought to “us[e] the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually.”
