The Senate approved a bill on Tuesday aimed at banning operations of the popular video app TikTok. This bill, mandates TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest the app within a year or face a ban from U.S. app stores and web hosting services.
The Senate voted 79-18 in favor, while the House endorsed the TikTok section with a 360-58 vote. President Joe Biden has expressed his intention to sign it into law.
Lawmakers are worried that the Chinese government might be using TikTok to spy on Americans and spread their views, especially since about 170 million people in the U.S. use the app.
TikTok, on the other hand, says it’s never been asked by the Chinese government for American user data and wouldn’t give it up if asked. The company also claims that banning the app would mess with Americans’ freedom of speech and hurt small businesses.
Now that the bill to restrict TikTok is close to becoming law, TikTok will fight back in court.
