Posted in: streaming, TV, YouTube | Tagged: biden, bytedance, social media, TikTok, trump

TikTok Ban Bill Signed by President Biden; Legal Challenge Expected

President Biden signed into law a package that starts the clock on ByteDance either divesting from TikTok or seeing it banned in the U.S.

Published Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:39:09 -0500

by Ray Flook

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And with a stroke of President Joseph Biden's pen, TikTok owner ByteDance now has 9 months (possibly 12, at the POTUS's discretion) to divest from TikTok or the social media service will be banned in the U.S. Earlier today, President Biden signed a $95B aid package that included $60B to Ukraine, $26B to Israel & for humanitarian relief in Gaza, $8B to Taiwan & the Indo-Pacific – and the TikTok provision. The move came after the U.S. Senate voted 79-18 on Tuesday night to approve the aid package and send it to President Biden's desk – following the House of Representatives voting over this past weekend (360-58, with and an amendment vote of 249-267) that sent the package to the Senate for consideration. "The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier, and it should've gotten there sooner," President Biden said after signing the bill. "But in the end we did what America always does, we rose to the moment."

"This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired," shared the company in a tweet/x posted shortly after news of President Biden signing the bill into law was announced. Here's a look at what TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had to say on the matter:

@tiktoknewsroomResponse to TikTok Ban Bill♬ original sound – TikTok Newsroom

Different from last month's "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" that was passed by the House and sent to the Senate, the package that was signed into law saw the move against the social media app attached to important foreign aid support. In addition, some concerns about that bill were addressed in what was passed – including giving ByteDance a year to find a new TikTok owner, an increase from the previous six-month time limit.

Even with President Biden's signature, there are the expected legal challenges from TikTok and others over First Amendment issues – arguing that millions of users are having their freedom of expression infringed upon over security concerns that have been expressed but haven't been factually proven to exist. According to TikTok, approximately 60% of ByteDance is held by "global institutional investors," which include BlackRock, General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group, and Sequoia – with 20% owned by the company's Chinese founders and 20% owned by other employees.

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