Bill to ban and force sale of TikTok finally passes US Senate, President Biden announces he will 'sign the bill immediately and address the nation'
The US Congress is currently drafting a bill that would effectively ban TikTok. On April 23, 2024, a comprehensive bill that includes this bill was passed by a majority vote in the US Senate and will be sent to President Joe Biden.
Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sends it to President Biden's desk - The Verge
Senate poised to pass bill that could ban TikTok | The Hill
TikTok Mandate Clears Preliminary Senate Vote
https://wwd.com/business-news/technology/tiktok-bill-clears-senate-vote-1236334684/
TikTok fortune of billionaire Republican donor Jeff Yass threatened by Washington
https://www.ft.com/content/256a45c3-8c78-4448-9dbe-8382c0788457
In the United States, where the risk of confidential information of American citizens being transferred to the Chinese government through TikTok has been a concern , the “Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act ” aimed at directly regulating TikTok was submitted on March 5, 2024. This bill requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok and its affiliated applications within nine months, and if it does not agree to the sale, it will be banned from using app stores and web hosting services in the United States.
On April 20, the US House of Representatives passed a $95 billion (approximately 14.7 trillion yen) comprehensive bill that included aid measures for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as the TikTok regulation bill. President Joe Biden issued a statement saying, 'I urge the Senate to promptly send this package to my desk and have it signed into law.'
The US House of Representatives passes a bill banning TikTok, aiming for quick legislation by packaging it with a 15 trillion yen foreign aid package - GIGAZINE
A few days later, on April 23, the US Senate passed a resolution to limit debate on these bills by a vote of 80 to 19, limiting debate on the omnibus bill to a maximum of 30 hours.
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said, 'I urge my colleagues to work together to pass a supplemental bill in the Senate as quickly as possible, without delaying or dragging out a vote on this bill and keeping our friends around the world waiting.'
On the evening of April 23, 2024, these comprehensive bills were passed by the US Senate by a vote of 79 to 18. Prior to the vote, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell said, 'We in Congress are acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance and malign operations to harm vulnerable American citizens, military personnel and government officials.'
Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also criticized the move, saying, 'Chinese companies, including ByteDance, have obligations not to their customers or shareholders, but to the Chinese government. Social media platforms such as TikTok are used by nearly half of Americans, and many political and social debates take place on these platforms every day. It is not difficult to imagine how these debates could be secretly manipulated by China, which has a long history of censorship, cross-border repression, and the spread of disinformation.'
President Biden has voiced his support for the 'Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act,' and immediately after the Senate passed it, he issued a statement saying, 'As soon as it arrives on my desk, I will sign it and address the American people on April 24th.'
On the other hand, a TikTok spokesperson pointed out on April 20, 'We are disappointed that the House of Representatives is using important diplomatic and humanitarian aid as a cover to push through a bill banning TikTok that would violate the free speech rights of 170 million Americans. ' In addition, TikTok has informed employees that it will launch a legal challenge if the bill passes.
TikTok has told employees it will fight in court against a bill by Congress to force the sale of its app - GIGAZINE
It has also been pointed out that Jeff Yass, co-founder of technology company Susquehanna International Group (SIG), which owns about 15% of ByteDance, worth about $40 billion (about 6.19 trillion yen), is in a difficult position regarding this bill. Li Chengdong, president of the internet think tank Haitun, said, 'If ByteDance closes the TikTok base in the United States, all of ByteDance's U.S.-based investors will suffer huge losses. Mr. Yass has done what he should have done, including lobbying aggressively, but there is nothing one billionaire can do in the face of the overarching U.S. goal of containing China.'
Continued
President Biden signs TikTok ban bill, 270-day countdown begins until sale or withdrawal. What happened behind the unprecedented speed of the bill? - GIGAZINE
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