After years of working to convince the US government that its popular social media app does not pose a threat to national security, TikTok’s loss in that battle now seems almost inevitable.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed legislation that would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to quickly divest its ownership stake in the app to become law, tying it to a crucial aid package for Ukraine and Israel. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill in the coming days. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation immediately.
This action would be an unprecedented move by the US Congress to use legislation to threaten the ban on a major consumer technology platform. If the law is signed, ByteDance plans to challenge the effort in court and work out any legal issues before considering any form of divestiture, people familiar with the matter said.