Specifically, this concerns the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PFACAA). The proposal was passed in the US Senate with 79 votes in favor and 18 votes against. The US House of Representatives recently also supported the proposal.
Keeping Americans’ data safe
The law affects not only TikTok, but all applications and platforms owned by foreign parties. The reason for the law is concerns about the security of data of American users; the US government fears that these will fall into the hands of foreign governments. In the case of TikTok, this specifically concerns the Chinese government.
The PFACAA allows the US government to restrict the distribution of such an app in the US. In practice, this means that app store providers in the US are no longer allowed to offer the app. In practice, this means that ByteDance must sell TikTok to avoid a ban on the social media platform in the US. The party to which the platform is sold must be approved by the Americans.
