(TO UPDATE)
Ultimatum for TikTok. The US Senate has approved the law that allows a nationwide ban on the social network unless the Chinese parent company ByteDance distances itself from it. This legislation has given ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok so that it is not removed from the country’s app stores and from American Internet services, as the television channel CNN reports.
The countdown begins when the country’s President Joe Biden signs the law, and he can extend the deadline for another 90 days if he believes progress is being made in selling the platform.
A few days ago the… US House of Representatives approved said Law. US lawmakers were responding to concerns that it was a tool of China that threatened national security. This is exactly what they fear China promotes disinformation during the presidential election next November.
The bill was approved with 352 yes votes and 65 no votes in the House of Commons and passed into the hands of the Senate, which has now given its consent. At the beginning of the year there was an attempt to force TikTok to sell its North American subsidiary, but ultimately failed in the Senate.
TikTok defends itself
Before knowing about the House of Lords’ approval of this law, TikTok issued a statement a few days ago in which it pointed out: “This ban would violate the freedom of expression of 170 million registered users in the North American country.‘ and claimed thatwould harm small businesses and influencers who have a voice thanks to this application«.
«It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using critical foreign aid and humanitarian assistance to once again push a ban bill that would trample on the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, destroy seven million businesses, and shut down a platform that generates $24 billion in The US economy contributes $1,000 annuallyhe snapped.
In this sense, according to Bloomberg, TikTok is preparing to fire an executive who is leading the talks to convince the United States government that the platform is “doing enough” not to address national security concerns about its ties with China.
The person in question is Erich Andersen, general counsel of TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDancewhich has spent years in dialogue with US authorities to prove that the app prevents China from accessing US users’ data or influencing what they see in their feeds.
Those efforts weren’t enough to convince U.S. lawmakers, so the Chinese company plans to have Andersen leave his current position, according to people familiar with the matter, although he will remain with the company, as will Alex Haurek, a spokesman for the company platform, has stated: “This is 100 percent false.«.
How would the ban work and what would it mean for TikTok users?
According to the New York Times, civil penalties would be imposed on app stores such as Apple and Google that distribute or update TikTok. The app is already available on millions of phones in the United States, but limiting updates will likely make it difficult for users to access it. This would be complemented by a measure banning web hosting companies from helping distribute the app.