How soon could US ban TikTok after Congress approved bill?
By Liv McMahon
TikTok is getting closer to being kicked out of the US after the Senate approved a bill that would ban the platform unless its Chinese owner ByteDance sells the company.
The video sharing app has millions of users around the world, but faces growing questions over the security of users’ data and its links to the government in Beijing.
The House of Representatives and Senate have now both passed legislation which, among other things, forces the platform’s parent company to divest.
President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the ban into law.
Lawmakers from both major US parties have pressed for a law that bans TikTok unless ByteDance agrees to sell the app to a non-Chinese company.
They fear the Chinese government could force ByteDance to hand over data about TikTok’s 170 million US users. TikTok insists it would not provide foreign user data to the Chinese government.
On 21 April, House lawmakers approved a $95bn (£76bn) foreign aid bill with funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that also clears the way for the forced sale of TikTok.
