US President Joe Biden has officially signed a bill to ban the social media platform TikTok. Specifically, Biden has signed into law legislation that prohibits the use of the application if its owner, ByteDance, fails to sell the platform.
The law notes the Chinese tech firm must divest from the short-form video app within the next year. The bill was passed by the Senate late Tuesday in what was a wide-margin vote, according to reports. Its creation was driven by concerns regarding China’s access to American data and surveillance worries.
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Biden Signs TikTok Ban Bill Into Law
Over the last several years, there is no denying the meteoric rise in popularity of the social media platform TikTok. Allowing users to create, view, and engage with short-form video content, it became widely used by predominantly younger audiences.
Yet, concerns regarding Chinese control of the applications have driven access from policymakers. Now, US President Joe Biden has officially signed a bill that will ban TikTok in the country. Moreover, the ban will persist until the platform owner, ByteDance, agrees to sell the application.
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The legislation was passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday, according to Reuters. Thereafter, Tuesday saw the Senate pass the bill, with President Biden signing it into law Wednesday. The rapid ascension of the bill verifies the overwhelming concerns that lawmakers have with the capabilities of the application.
The law is the culmination of a four-year battle between the US and TikTok. Moreover, it represents a much larger geopolitical conflict regarding technology and data access. Currently, the application has more than 170 million users in the United States, and is expected to take legal action.