Biden’s signature sets a Jan. 19 deadline for the sale — one day before his term ends
“Rest assured – we’re not going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video released shortly after US President Joe Biden signed the bill giving China’s ByteDance 270 days to divest the assets of in the USA otherwise it will be banned.
TikTok’s chief executive said today that the company expects to win a legal challenge to block the law banning the popular platform, which is used by 170 million Americans.
“The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.”
Biden’s signature sets a Jan. 19 deadline for the sale — one day before his term ends — but he could extend the deadline by three months if he finds ByteDance is making progress.
Chew added: “Make no mistake – this is a TikTok ban.” He emphasized that TikTok will continue to operate as the company challenges the restrictions. Driven by widespread concerns among US lawmakers that China could access or track Americans’ data with the app, the bill was overwhelmingly passed by the US Senate late Tuesday. The US House of Representatives approved it on Saturday.
The four-year battle over TikTok is a major front in an internet and technology war between Washington and Beijing.
TikTok is set to challenge the bill citing the First Amendment, and TikTok users are also expected to take legal action again. A US judge in Montana in November blocked a state ban on TikTok, citing free speech.
The American Civil Liberties Union said banning or requiring TikTok to be divested would “set a troubling global precedent for excessive government control over social media platforms.”
But the new legislation is likely to give the Biden administration a stronger legal basis to ban TikTok if ByteDance fails to divest the app, experts say.
The bill would also give the White House new tools to ban or compel the sale of other foreign-owned apps it deems to pose security threats.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday that President Joe Biden is “pushing” for a ban on TikTok and will be the one to blame if a ban is imposed, urging voters to take heed. Biden’s re-election campaign plans to continue using TikTok, a campaign official said Wednesday.
The Trump campaign has not joined TikTok.
Biden signed legislation in late 2022 that banned US government employees from using TikTok on government phones.
Tags: TikTok Countering ban Newsbomb News
