TikTok loses another battle in the US as Senate clears bill to ban the app

In a blow to TikTok, the US Senate passed a controversial bill that seeks to ban the app by 360-58. It is now headed to US President Joe Biden, who has previously committed to signing the bill.

Lawmakers in the US tied the bill with foreign aid packages to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, amongst other allies, which led to it being taken up earlier than expected.

Lawmakers have previously raised concerns about TikTok sharing data of its US users with the Chinese government, owing to the national security law in China. ByteDance has repeatedly refuted the allegations.

Once the bill is signed by the US President, ByteDance will have 9 months to divest investments in TikTok or face a nationwide ban. If there’s progress, the President has the power to grant an additional 3 months, taking the total to 12 months.

According to The Verge, Maria Cantwell, Senate Commerce Committee Chair, highlighted the national security aspect of the bill, citing that it would prevent espionage and surveillance.

Congress is not acting to punish ByteDance, TikTok or any other individual company. Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel.

Mark Warner, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair, said,

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. In the context of social media platforms used by nearly half of Americans, it’s not hard to imagine how a platform that facilitates so much commerce, political discourse, and social debate could be covertly manipulated to serve the goals of an authoritarian regime, one with a long track record of censorship, transnational repression, and promotion of disinformation.

TikTok set to take the fight to court

Even though the bill has been passed by the US Senate and is expected to be soon signed by the President, TikTok isn’t easily going to cede to the demands. As reported in Bloomberg, TikTok is planning to approach the US courts.

In a memo to the staff, Michael Beckerman, Head of Public Policy at TikTok, said

This is an unprecedented deal worked out between the Republican Speaker and President Biden. At the stage that the bill is signed, we will move to the courts for a legal challenge. We’ll continue to fight. This is the beginning, not the end of this long process.

If TikTok obtains an injunction from the court, ByteDance won’t be forced to sell its stake, and the app can operate in the US for at least another few years.

TikTok had previously urged users in the US for support in its fight against the bill. Users across the US received notifications on the phone encouraging them to call their representatives and voice their opinions against the bill.

Experts believe that TikTok and the US government are headed for a prolonged legal battle, as it happened under the previous administration when efforts were made to ban TikTok and WeChat.

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