The Senate has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill that could lead to the banning of popular social media app TikTok or the sale of its China-based parent company ByteDance within a year. The bill, which received 79 votes in favor and only 18 against, is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after successfully passing the House.
The legislation is part of a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, and has sparked a fierce debate over data privacy and content censorship. ByteDance has vowed to challenge the bill in court, arguing that it infringes on the first amendment rights of TikTok’s 170 million American users. If the bill goes into effect, Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store would be required to stop offering TikTok for download.
Past attempts to ban TikTok, including by former president Donald Trump, have also cited concerns over data privacy and the app potentially sharing sensitive user information with the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly denied these claims, stating that it does not collect sensitive data or censor content for any government.
Bans on TikTok have already been implemented in various locations, including college campuses, political offices, and some states in the US. The app was also banned in India in 2020 due to safety concerns, and interestingly is not even available in its home country, China.
With such widespread concerns over data privacy and national security, the fate of TikTok in the US remains uncertain as the bill now awaits President Biden’s decision on whether to sign it into law. Stay tuned to Jala News for updates on this developing story.
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