The forced sale was passed through the Senate as part of four bills aimed primarily at securing military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other US allies in the Far East.
By separating TikTok from ByteDance, the US Congress hopes to prevent the data of millions of Americans from falling into the hands of the Chinese government. There are also concerns that Beijing is abusing the app to influence American politics.
The bill received broad support in the Senate, with 79 votes in favor and 18 against. “For years, we allowed the Chinese Communist Party to exert power over one of the most popular apps in the United States,” said Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican member of the committee that oversees the intelligence community. “This is a good step for America.”
Ban for civil servants
The law previously received the support of the overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives. President Joe Biden had already announced that he would immediately sign it today. From that moment on, ByteDance has nine months to find a new owner.
Congress hopes that American investors will take over TikTok. The app would have a price tag of $100 billion. If the company finds a buyer but cannot complete the deal before the December deadline, the sale deadline can be extended by three months.
ByteDance has previously said that it will defend itself with all legal means. The company draws hope from previous lawsuits filed against individual US states that tried to ban government officials from installing the app on their phones. The judges saw this as too great an infringement of freedom of expression.
ByteDance denies ties with party
A law professor from the University of Richmond told the BBC that a lawsuit could take “as long as two years” before a final verdict is reached.
ByteDance said earlier this week that the law would “silence 170 million Americans, spell doom for seven million businesses and silence a platform that contributes $24 billion annually to the US economy.”
The company strongly denies that it is in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party and that it is not a Chinese company because it is 60 percent owned by global investment companies.
