President Biden has signed a law mandating the sale of Chinese-owned TikTok within a year or face a ban, marking the most significant challenge yet to the video-streaming platform’s future in the U.S.
This move escalates America’s technological standoff with China.
The law grants TikTok a nine-month window to secure a buyer, with the possibility of a three-month extension if acquisition negotiations are underway.
Earlier, in March, the U.S. House of Representatives proposed a bill providing about six months for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. assets or risk prohibition.
However, some lawmakers deemed the timeframe insufficient. TikTok boasts approximately 170 million American users.
According to NPR, Biden signed this provision into law as part of a broader bill allocating foreign assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. The legislation stipulates that ByteDance must relinquish its ownership of TikTok within 12 months under the threat of closure.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan clarified that the objective is to end Chinese control over TikTok, rather than outright banning the app.
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“Do we want TikTok, as a platform, to be owned by an American company or owned by China? Do we want the data from TikTok – children’s data, adults’ data – to be going, to be staying here in America or going to China?” he said.
In 2017, the Chinese tech powerhouse ByteDance acquired the widely-used karaoke app Musical.ly, rebranding it as TikTok. Since then, TikTok has drawn scrutiny from national security officials in Washington over concerns about potential influence from the Chinese government.
Despite these concerns, TikTok has surged in popularity, establishing itself as a frontrunner in the realm of short-form video content. With approximately 170 million American users, nearly half of the nation, and serving as a primary news source for one-third of young people, as per Pew Research Center, TikTok has cemented its cultural impact.
This situation marks a significant juncture, with the U.S. introducing legislation that could lead to the prohibition of a social media platform for the first time. This move has garnered criticism from civil liberties groups and Constitutional scholars alike.
In response, TikTok has declared its intent to challenge the Biden administration in court, arguing that the legislation would infringe upon the free speech rights of millions of Americans.
