What will happen to TikTok?
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - The clock is ticking on TikTok after the Senate passed a bill banning the social media app in the U.S. unless it is sold off by its Chinese owner.
The U.S. says it’s time for TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese company or say goodbye to the U.S. market.
“Congress is not acting to punish ByteDance, TikTok, or any other individual company. Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
Some lawmakers say TikTok is like a giant intelligence vacuum sucking up American users’ private data for the Chinese government.
ByteDance denies this saying it shares nothing with the Chinese Communist Party.
“The truth is these Chinese companies at the end of the day, they don't owe their obligation to their customers or their shareholders, but they owe it to the PRC government,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
ByteDance will have nine months to divest from TikTok. If a ban goes into effect TikTok wouldn’t disappear from users’ phones but updates and new downloads wouldn’t be available from U.S. app stores.
“This legislation may at least mitigate a national security risk, but it could and likely will result in widespread censorship,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
Critics say the U.S. government is chilling free speech.
“This censorship would predominantly impact young people in our country,” Markey added.
Others say the amount of support in Congress speaks for itself.
“It certainly enjoys a whole lot of support and I think there were only 48 votes against it in the House,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
It will be at least nine months before any ban would happen, but it’s expected to face numerous legal challenges.
President Joe Biden signed the bill Wednesday morning.