The Senate has voted 79-18 to pass a bill that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short-form video app within nine months. The legislation is part of a larger $95 billion foreign aid package that provides assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
The bill’s passage marks the culmination of long-held bipartisan fears over Chinese influence and the ownership of TikTok, which has over 170 million users in the United States. Lawmakers have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over user data or manipulate content on the platform.
The legislation aims to address these concerns by requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months. The bill also bars the company from controlling TikTok’s algorithm, which has been credited with the platform’s popularity.
Opponents of the bill argue that it is unnecessary and could harm content creators and infringe on free speech rights. They note that there is no public evidence that shows TikTok sharing U.S. user information with Chinese authorities or that Chinese officials have ever tampered with its algorithm.
TikTok has denied being a security threat and has said it will challenge the legislation in court. The company has had some success with court challenges in the past, but it has never sought to prevent federal legislation from going into effect.
It remains to be seen whether the legislation will withstand legal challenges or whether TikTok will be able to successfully divest its ownership of the platform. In the meantime, content creators and users are anxiously awaiting the outcome of this ongoing battle over the future of TikTok in the United States.
