TikTok Banned!! The US Senate has approved a controversial bill to ban TikTok in America. Under this, TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, will have to sell its shares in the US within the next six months. Otherwise this app will be blocked in USA. The bill will now go to President Joe Biden for his signature and become law after his signature.
This would require ByteDance to seek approval from Chinese authorities for a mandatory sale of TikTok, which Beijing has already strongly opposed. The US Congress previously passed the bill with a package of four bills, including those related to military assistance to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and US partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Is TikTok Getting Banned Tomorrow?
The lower house of Congress passed a bill last month ordering Chinese firm ByteDance to transfer ownership of popular social media app TikTok. It is said that if ownership is not transferred within 9 months, TikTok will be banned in the United States. The controversial and groundbreaking bill was also approved by the upper house of the US Congress on Tuesday. This has raised fears that popular social media app TikTok may be banned in the United States.
The BBC reports that after passing the Senate, the bill will now be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. Meanwhile, Biden has said he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. If the bill becomes law after Biden’s signature, ByteDance would have to seek approval from Chinese officials to force the sale of its ownership. But Beijing has vowed to deny it. Analysts say the process could take years to complete.
The United States has ordered the transfer of ownership of TikTok out of fear that China is stealing the information of millions of American citizens. However, Tiktok authorities are unwilling to accept this order. TikTok chief executive Shou Ji-chiu said last month that his company would do everything it could, including its “legal rights,” to protect the platform.
Read more: Taiwan Earthquakes: History, News, Aftershocks and Warning
Is TikTok Getting Banned in the UK?
TikTok has been banned from mobile phones and other devices used by government agencies in the UK. The news is from Wiwan News. “We are moving towards a system where government devices will only use third-party apps,” said Oliver Dowden, the country’s Cabinet Office minister. which is in the pre-approved list.
He said, we are also going to ban the use of Chinese-owned app TikTok on government devices. We will do it quickly. Dowden added that the ban does not include personal devices. There will be limited exemptions if TikTok is required on government devices for operational reasons. Earlier in the week there was talk of banning TikTok in the UK. At that time, TikTok said that they would be disappointed with such a ban.
TikTok has come under fire mainly due to cyber security concerns. Westerners have repeatedly complained that TikTok users’ data could be used by China for state surveillance and espionage. The app has already been banned in India. Before this, the United States banned TikTok on government devices last February.
When will the Senate Vote on the TikTok Ban?
A large legislative package worth $95 billion in foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine, and other US allies was approved by the Senate late on Tuesday. The bill, which had previously passed the House, also contains a clause that, should the Chinese owner of the well-known platform TikTok fail to sell its ownership within a year, could result in the platform’s outright ban in the United States.
Why Do They Want to Ban TikTok?
The U.S. government passed legislation prohibiting the social media platform TikTok unless it is sold to a government-approved buyer due to concerns that the Chinese government could access sensitive user data through the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
After the U.S. Senate approved the legislation on Tuesday night, President Biden signed it into law on Wednesday, giving ByteDance up to a year to remove itself from TikTok.
