Senate Backs TikTok Ban, Ukraine Aid Package Advances
Measure Would Give Biden One Year to Sell Off App
TikTok Vows Legal Fight, Says 'We Aren't Going Anywhere'
The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly voted to advance a bill that would ban the popular video-sharing app TikTok from operating in the United States unless its Chinese parent company sells it within a year. The measure, attached to a larger bill providing $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, passed with a bipartisan vote of 79-18.
The move comes amid growing concerns about TikTok's potential to be used by the Chinese government to collect sensitive data on American users. The app has been banned on U.S. military devices, and some government agencies have advised their employees against using it.
In response to the Senate vote, TikTok said it is "disappointed but not surprised" by the decision. The company said it plans to file a legal challenge to the law, arguing that it is unconstitutional and based on "political considerations rather than the facts."
TikTok's chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, said in a statement that the company is "confident in the merits of our case" and that "we are not going anywhere."
If the bill becomes law, President Biden would have one year to order the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations. TikTok would be barred from operating in the United States during that time unless it was sold to an American company.
The Senate vote is a major step forward for lawmakers who have been pushing to ban TikTok. However, the measure still faces an uncertain future in the House of Representatives, where Democrats have expressed some concerns about the bill's constitutionality.
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