BREAKING: President Biden Signs Law to Ban TikTok in U.S

President Biden has signed a law to ban Chinese-owned TikTok unless it is sold within a year.

This law, which was embedded within a larger bill providing foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, mandates that ByteDance must either sell its stake in TikTok within 12 months or face a potential ban in the United States.

This move emphasizes a growing tension between the U.S. and China over technological dominance, with TikTok caught in the crossfire. According to the new legislation, TikTok has up to nine months to secure a buyer, which can be extended by an additional three months under certain conditions. This development follows earlier discussions in the U.S. House of Representatives, which suggested a six-month period for divestiture, a timeline some lawmakers argued was too brief.

The decision aims at ending Chinese ownership of TikTok, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The central concern revolves around the ownership of data, particularly whether it should remain within American borders or be potentially accessible to the Chinese government. Sullivan posed a critical question regarding whether TikTok should remain under American control or revert to its Chinese roots, highlighting issues related to data privacy of American users, including both adults and children.

ByteDance acquired the then-popular karaoke app Musical.ly in 2017 and transformed it into what is now TikTok. Since then, TikTok has not only been a platform for entertainment but has also emerged as a significant source of news, especially among younger Americans. Reports suggest that around one-third of young people in the U.S. use TikTok for news, and the app reaches about half of the country’s population with its engaging short-form videos.

This law marks the first instance where the U.S. government could potentially ban a major social media platform, a prospect that has drawn criticism from various civil liberties groups and constitutional scholars. These groups argue that such a ban could impinge on free speech rights.

In response to the new law, TikTok has indicated plans to challenge the Biden administration’s decision in court, claiming that the legislation unfairly targets the platform and could restrict free speech for millions of Americans.