(NewsNation) — What’s going on with the future of TikTok? The short answer is nothing yet.
The House approved a foreign aid package Saturday that includes a possible ban on TikTok, but the video-sharing app won’t go away for its 170 million U.S. users anytime soon.
What would the TikTok bill do?
The measure would require ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to divest in TikTok within a year. The company would have to sell the app or risk it being banned entirely in the U.S.
For or against TikTok ban?
TikTok has vocalized their opposition to the bill.
“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill,” TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said.
“(The law) would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,” he added.
Since mid-March, TikTok has spent $5 million on TV ads pushing against the legislation, an advertising tracking firm said.
Critics argue ByteDance is under control of the Chinese government, which could acquire user data. In January, TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew told Congress the company has not been asked to share data with the Chinese government and would not do so.
“This legislation also defends our interests at home by including my bipartisan legislation to protect Americans against the national security threat posed by Chinese Communist Party control of TikTok,” former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who delayed his resignation to stay for the foreign aid vote, wrote.
Déjà vu?
House lawmakers voted on the TikTok ban bill as stand-alone legislation back in March, but it stalled in the Senate. What’s changed? The measure has been fast-tracked by being included in a broader aid package that featured a lot of priorities Congress wanted to pass, such as tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to U.S. allies overseas.
The TikTok legislation that passed the House in March would have given TikTok roughly six months to sell to a new owner. In the modified version, the congressional timeline calls for ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months, but there could be a three-month grace period if a sale is in progress.
What happens next with the possible TikTok ban?
The modified TikTok ban measure is now on the expressway to passage. The House approved the foreign aid bill that included the possible TikTok ban Saturday in a 360-58 vote.
It’s expected to pass the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will take up the bill Tuesday afternoon.
President Joe Biden is likely to sign the bill because he did endorse the previous version of it. TikTok has hinted it would fight a mandated sale in court.
NewsNation digital producer Rich Johnson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
