Congress fast-tracks a bill targeting TikTok by linking it to foreign war funding—now signed into law and facing legal backlash.
On Tuesday, April 24, 2024, the U.S. Senate approved a bill mandating the sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to prevent a potential ban. The move could significantly impact TikTok content creators and is expected to face legal challenges.
This decision is part of a significant $95 billion legislative package supporting foreign wars and was swiftly moved through Congress by attaching it to war funding measures.
Update (April 24, 2024, 3:23 P.M. EST): President Biden has signed the bill.
April 2024 TikTok Bill and Ban Summary
Legislative action against ByteDance: The Senate passed a bill forcing ByteDance to divest its interest in TikTok or face a ban, passing the legislation with a significant majority of 79-18 votes.
Funding wars at the same time: The TikTok legislation was included in a broader $95 billion package that also provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Likely presidential support: The bill, having passed the Senate, is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden, who has expressed his intention to sign it immediately.
Rushed through Congress: The attachment of the TikTok bill to a vital spending package expedited its approval in Congress, facilitated by negotiations and strategic legislative maneuvers.
TikTok must be sold by around this time next year: The revised version of the bill extends the deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok from six months to nine months, with a potential three-month extension if a sale is underway.
Restricting TikTok’s algorithms: The legislation includes provisions to prohibit ByteDance from controlling TikTok’s highly influential algorithm, which tailors video feeds to user interests and has been crucial to the platform’s success as a trendsetter.
Congress says it’s worried for your safety: The legislative action reflects long-standing bipartisan fears in Washington about the potential for Chinese interference through TikTok, which boasts 170 million American users. Concerns include the possibility of ByteDance being coerced to share U.S. user data with Chinese authorities or manipulating content to influence American public opinion. According to Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, the bill aims to prevent foreign espionage and protect Americans from malign operations rather than targeting any specific company.
People question why just TikTok: Many opponents believe that a broad federal data privacy law targeting all companies would be more effective at protecting U.S. consumers than specific actions against TikTok.
Legal challenges ahead, but probably won’t matter much: TikTok is preparing to challenge the legislation legally, asserting that the bill has fundamental constitutional issues and that the threat it addresses has not been substantiated by public evidence.
