- US demands that TikTok be separated from its Chinese parent company
- TikTok's popularity among youth means young people are not happy
- Biden shares concerns about the app
US demands that TikTok be separated from its Chinese parent company
On Tuesday, the US Senate passed a bill requiring the hugely popular social network TikTok to be separated from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or to lose access to the American market.
The measure was included in the €95 billion EU budget and a USD 88.7 billion foreign aid package that includes military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. It has cleared all the hurdles in Congress and is now on President Joe Biden's desk.
TikTok's popularity among youth means young people are not happy
US and other Western officials are concerned about TikTok's popularity among young people, saying it allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. In the US alone, 170 million people use the app. Critics also say that TikTok is subservient to Beijing and is a tool for spreading propaganda, something that China and the company itself deny.
The bill, which could lead to the rare step of banning a company from the US market, was passed in the Senate by a vote of 79 to 18. The Senate's approval came three days after the green light was given by the House of Representatives, where the legislation received strong bipartisan support.
Biden shares concerns about the app
Biden has said he will sign the law. He reiterated his concerns about TikTok in a rare phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month.
"TikTok took to the floor of the House of Representatives after the vote on Saturday to complain, saying it was "unfortunate" that lawmakers sought to "quickly pass a ban bill that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, crush 7 million businesses, and shut down a platform that contributes $24 billion annually to the US economy. It's the first time that the EU has done so."
Under the bill, ByteDance must sell TikTok within a year, or the platform will be removed from the Apple and Google app stores in the United States.
Steven Mnuchin, former Treasury Secretary under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, has said he is interested in taking over TikTok and has set up an investor group.
Based on reports
