President Biden signs TikTok ban bill into law | Mashable.
President Biden signs TikTok ban bill into law
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| Credit: Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images |
Update: On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed the bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance fails to divest the app within a year.
Original story:
The U.S. TikTok ban has just passed the Senate, meaning it's just one presidential signature away from becoming law. Considering President Joe Biden has previously said he would sign the bill, it now seems practically guaranteed that the TikTok ban will actually go ahead.
Seventy-nine U.S. senators approved of the TikTok ban, eclipsing the 18 who voted against it. The bill had passed the House of Representatives on Saturday, bundled with aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. It was the second time a TikTok ban had passed the House in as many months, with the previous bill having stalled at the Senate.
In addition to being bundled with foreign aid, the new bill made a few changes to the timeline for that ban's enforcement. Instead of having to sell TikTok within six months, Chinese parent company ByteDance will have nine months to divest from it. The President is also able to add one 90-day extension to that deadline, stretching it to a year.
If ByteDance does not sell the video sharing platform by then — and specifically to a company that the U.S. government does not believe is controlled by a "foreign adversary" — TikTok will be forced to exit the U.S. entirely. That means no more dance challenges, no more "get ready with me" story times, and no more industrial grade glycine from Donghua Jinlong.
TikTok likely to challenge U.S. ban in court
It's unlikely that TikTok will go without a fight. Responding to the earlier bill last month, CEO Shou Zi Chew hinted that the company may take legal action to defend itself against the ban. TikTok previously fended off a Montana ban in December, with a judge finding it unconstitutional on the grounds that it restricted free speech and imposed an extrajudicial punishment on the company.
"We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform we have built with you," Chew said last month.
TikTok's intention to take the matter to court was further confirmed this week in an internal memo from Michael Beckerman, the company's public policy head in America. The Information reported that Beckerman issued the memo after the House of Representatives passed the ban on Saturday.
"At the stage that the bill is signed, we will move to the courts for a legal challenge," Beckerman wrote. "We’ll continue to fight, as this legislation is a clear violation of the first amendment rights of the 170 million Americans on TikTok."
Mashable has reached out to TikTok for comment.
TikTok has 170 million U.S. users, a number that even includes President Biden, and employed almost 7000 people in the U.S. as of March last year. They're not the only ones whose livelihood may be impacted by a U.S. TikTok ban, though. A study commissioned by TikTok found that the app supported 224,000 jobs in 2023, and contributed $24.2 billion to the U.S. GDP.
A U.S. TikTok ban may have further implications for free speech
U.S. politicians have attempted to justify the TikTok ban by claiming it is a security concern, accusing the Chinese government of spying on users and manipulating the algorithm to show content sympathetic to China. Though there's no evidence of this happening, fear of this hypothetical has fuelled much of the push for a TikTok ban.
Some senators have even blamed TikTok for the swell of support for Palestine among young people, believing the cause has been promoted by China with the intention of causing division in the U.S.
"Let's look at where young people are getting their news," said Senator Pete Ricketts, criticising pro-Palestinian sentiments. "The Chinese Communist Party is doing this on purpose. They are pushing this racist agenda with the intention of undermining our democratic values. And if you look at what's happening at the Columbia University and other campuses across the country right now, they're winning."
Students at Columbia University, Yale, New York University, and others have been staging large protests in support of Palestine, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the end to military aid for Israel, and for these institutions to divest from companies that are profiting from the conflict in Gaza.
People on social media across the political spectrum have been less than thrilled with the news of the TikTok ban. Several have criticised it as an attack on free speech, noting that lawmakers have explicitly stated that their intention is to prevent the spread of content which is sympathetic to China or Palestine. Some have also expressed concern that a ban on TikTok could set a dangerous precedent which may enable bans on other social media platforms as well.
The TikTok ban will now be sent to President Biden to be signed into law. If you have any favourite videos that you like to rewatch, now would be the time to download them.
Topics TikTok
Did it actually pass the Senate? I didn't see that coming.
ReplyDeleteIs it democracy? Land of free speech?
ReplyDeletefree speech only applies to those with the right opinions.
Deletethen it's not free speech
Deletealso, depend on what you mean by "right"opinion, you can't threat and lie, but if it's just a opinion that you don't like, then it's authoritatively and dictatorial.
DeleteCant be made
ReplyDeleteTiktok 4 3v34
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand I want it banned, but on the other hand it's bad for those who produce content and earn their money.
ReplyDeleteI don't use the website that much, but it is kind of Government overreach to determine what websites we go on unless it's a really bad website that is hurting people why get rid of a website that is a source of happiness and entertainment for people. Of all the laws they can discuss there a far more laws that need passing that are needed to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing but poison for our children. The information that this site provides, some good but mostly bad, just is not worth the exposure.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of it.
Bring back vine
ReplyDeleteBring back MySpace!
DeleteGood 'ol Tom. He never scraped my personal info or radicalized my boomer family members with rage bait.
DeleteHe only froze my computer by allowing people to place 5 YouTube videos that immediately auto-played along with copious amounts of badly written HTML/CSS
DeleteWhy doesn't tiktok marry an American company and get a green card?
ReplyDeleteNext step - sell the company to Chinese Americans
Delete"I'm Singaporean."
DeleteOur government truly does not care. They steal and harvest more data, or just buy it from companies they allow to do it, than most SV companies would even know what to do with.
Anyway, glad to help subsidize "defense" for yet another country that actually has universal healthcare, lives longer lives than us, lives healthier lives than us, and pays 2-3x less overall for said healthcare even with the "high taxes" considered.
MERICA!
This is a season of 90 day fiance I would watch!
Deletethey would need to create another app to have an anchor baby... an anchor app if you will.
DeleteThank god now only Meta, Google, Reddit, Twitter and the rest of the gang can still safely gather, sell and use my information! Crisis averted!
ReplyDeleteOwned by US companies who don't have a vested interest in the US going downhill.
DeleteEvery single one of these companies would sell your data to china and russia for the right price
DeleteAlot of them already have sold your data to foreign countries.
Yeah, I'm sure when Facebook sold US citizens data to Russia during the Cambridge Analytica scandal it was with best intents in mind.
DeleteLmao it’s so cute you actually think none of these other corps have been selling off your data 😂 fucking hell I don’t use TikTok but banning it and letting the others run free is just ridiculous
DeleteChina has banned basically every western social media app. I can see the freedom of speech part yet fully understood the Chinese government can have and probably does have all the data on tictock users phones.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we be like China in the ways that actually help the average person instead of being like China in the social engineering, owned by our government way?
DeleteThis isn't social engineering. The government isn't censoring speech by forcing the sale of TikTok.
DeleteCensorship is only one type of social engineering. It's defined as "the use of centralized planning in an attempt to manage social change and regulate the future development and behavior of a society."
DeleteThis can be achieved through censorship but also through controlling the type of marketplaces that people can engage with. China does both. And at least according to a Montana judge, banning TikTok does violate freedom of speech.
It's a very conflicting thing, though. Do we want to be more like China and deny citizens access to platforms simply because they're controlled by people govt doesn't like?
DeleteOn the other hand, TikTok is complete brainwashed CCP controlled brain rot garbage and I'd love to see it go.
TikTok is Chinese spyware!
ReplyDelete-tweeted from American spyware
Excellent. Now do the same with Facebook and Twitter.
ReplyDeleteOk. Done. Facebook and Twitter are now owned by US companies.
DeleteTwitter is basically owned by Saudi Arabia through Musk.
DeleteDo the same with anyone who's commodified your children's privacy
DeleteI worked for a fraud department. You can order things through TikTok and when mysterious charges come from China what do you think your odds are of getting your money back?
ReplyDeleteSurprised they didn't add Temu to this. That's not even including how it abuses import tax law.
DeleteYup! That's the big one and they're pouring money into advertising here.
DeleteAmazon doesn't have as much control over the public's thoughts as Facebook and Google. AND Facebook and google are being paid by Temu aren't they? Like Temu pays they for ads placed on google and Facebook?
DeleteI'm not saying that Facebook and google actually manipulated people, but they have the ability to. Certainly they can influence congress. That's not hard.
Shien would be the one to ban too surely. Isn't that way bigger than temu?
Temu is great. But something. Return it and they say “ah don’t bother” and you get money back
DeleteThey're doing what Amazon did. They're running initially at a loss to gain access to the market. Once they have a steady customer base things like their return policy will change.
DeleteTheir prices are so low because they cheat the system. Under certain circumstances you can skirt import tax laws but those exceptions were never designed for big companies. Temu figured out how to take advantage of that. The loophole needs to be closed.
Outside of that, never use your credit card directly with them if you opt to purchase anything. Too many stories of stolen credit cards. Stick to Paypal or something similar.
How the fuck do you ban an app for safety reasons while actively using the app yourself?
ReplyDeleteYay we as consumers are now protected from data harvesting apps....Oh wait...
ReplyDeleteAnd nothing of value was lost
ReplyDeleteHard disagree. I love seeing amateur content, and there is no platform comparable to what TikTok has.
DeleteYoutube and a thousand different sites have that same thing. I promise my Chinese brother we will be fine with the amount of choices that Americans have for their entertainment.
DeleteThey certainly do not have the same creator base that tiktok does. Yt and ig shorts are trash, and any good video is a re-up from tiktok
Deletethis is so silly and not a good look. not a tik tok user or fan but man the standards are sad in the states for real data protection. shame on Biden
ReplyDeleteUS finally got their Firewall!
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy because Tik Tok is pretty much the best app when it comes to paying creators afaik. Youtube, Insta, etc. all make it a real bitch to make decent money on their platforms, but because their American they are allowed to take advantage of you and your information, not those mean other guys.
ReplyDeleteEh. Dorritoes and soda are the cheapest ways to get calories but obviously there's more to it than that.
DeleteAnd yeah, China literally has a nuclear warhead aimed at your city with a 20 minute flight time. As bad as zucker and company are, there are levels of bad.
And x and fb at least can be regulated, even if congress (or a president who could introduce legislation) won't take it seriously.
Look what China did in Hong Kong and its posture on Taiwan. These are next level bad.
Why say something so insanely incorrect, with such confidence?
DeleteThey have literally been caught selling to foriegn nations, and letting hatespeech, and illegal activities run wild on their platform.
Look at what the US is doing bud.
I mean it's data the US government already has. We already live in a a nightmarish dystopia. Just because the government is the devil you know, doesn't make it any less fucked.
ReplyDeleteGlad this whole dog and pony show is over. Useless drivel. Basically it's either give up your data to the Chinese or to the US government.
We should not be allowing this invasion of privacy in the first place. Keep cooming to these headlines without taking action.
It's their laws. I can accept that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, America can never lecture any one about freedom of speech.
Next time America lecture other countries about unfair or banning, they can STFU.
Ccp creates new shell company, sells to shell company, song and dance starts over because America can’t reign in capital, much less state capital.
ReplyDeleteThe evil companies in the west are not owned by the government they just want your money. The evil companies in China are owned by their government they want to destroy your way of life. Why do the Chinese government want to destroy your way of life? Because people in China are not happy with their government the only way the government can hold on to power is to make democracy a worse choice by comparison.
ReplyDeleteAll you people talking about how both sides are equally bad needs to wake the hell up.
They're either too dumb to read this comment and realize they need to read more, or they're bots who will never acknowledge this. The reasonable people in the back of the room see this for what it is.
DeleteChina committed genocide against tens of millions of its own people during the 20th century, but I have to hear constantly that there's no difference between the US and China by mobs of people who don't know anything they didn't "learn" on Tiktok.
DeleteIt's enough to drive a person insane.
This is an easy fix. Create new company named Toktik, migrate over all content and users, give the government old TikTok and watch it fail, take additional legal safeguards to prevent future attacks by the globalist hacks.
ReplyDeleteI actually think they are making a new app called TikTok Notes...wonder if they wrote the legislation to include their other apps or just TikTok specifically?
DeleteIt’s just tik tok and only if ByteDance doesn’t sell it. Doesn’t even need to be an American
DeleteI don't think they'll sell it (or even can sell it from my understanding). The US is only 2% of the global TikTok users and the ownership isn't only China. I think China owns 20% and 60% is owned by foreign investors (including some Americans)...How do you get all those people to agree to the terms of a divestiture?
DeleteLive journal coming back
ReplyDeleteThat's right! Only right wing US Billionaires are allowed to spam propaganda to Americans!
ReplyDeleteahh yes. so the US hates the way china operates and thinks the best way to combat it is to..act like china. lets face it. the only people who benefit from this is zuckerberg.
ReplyDeleteI mean...yeah. It's a regular race to the bottom. Someone does malicious shit that puts you at a disadvantage, you have to do the same shit or you'll be taken advantage off and left in the dust.
DeleteOh no...What will soccer moms and slacker kids now do to fill the time?
ReplyDeleteYou don’t fight authoritarians by becoming one yourself. The USA is sinking to China’s level by banning apps within its boarder where it’s supposed to be the symbol of freedom instead of becoming the very thing it swore to stand against.
ReplyDeleteShould be top comment, tbh.
DeleteAll the TikTok addicts in here frothing at the mouth. Find a new drug.
ReplyDeleteObviously this isn’t the perfect solution for data protection but it is certainly a step in the right direction. There is no reason for the CCP to have remotely close to the level of influence on the general US population that they do with tik tok. It is way too easy to manipulate the algorithm to emphasize/suppress topics. Hopefully this leads to further conversations about data protection since it is about to be such a hot topic
ReplyDeleteLETS GOOOOO
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is gonna be popular for us gen zers in the vote
ReplyDeleteWHAT PRIORITIES!
ReplyDeleteZuck wants to buy it
ReplyDeleteThis... Reminds me of the red scare during the 60s tbh. Repeat of history... Except China is much more powerful and better run than Russia ever has been.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect this to end well for the US tbh.
Glad they're taking care of the important stuff first, and saving all the silly stuff for later like affordable healthcare, affordable education, and affordable housing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an opportunity for someone in US to start a new app called Tok Tik
ReplyDeletefrom my understanding the algorithm that TikTok uses is what makes it stand out. Shorts, reels, etc... cant hold a candle to it. I am 55yrs old and because of the vid I like and dislike my feed is filled with stuff I like. Where as in the other ones it is a trash heap of spam/shit/etc.. within the stuff I like.
ReplyDeleteOur politicians only represent corporations. Facebook and others lobbied against tiktok to eliminate competition from the market. That's what this is about.
ReplyDeleteIf they cared about national security or privacy, they would have regulated the industry instead of targeting tiktok specifically. It's a smoke screen and lie.
Pro tip if the government ever claims to be pro privacy, there is an excellent chance they are lying and misdirecting us.
I expect a law suit on first amendment rights is soon to follow.
ReplyDeleteWhat rights are violated specifically?
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that there are already plans to fight it on first amendment grounds, just like they did (successfully) when Montana tried to ban it from the state. *I don't know specifics, but what I've heard is that the ACLU fought and won in Montana and is planning to do the same for this bill as well.
DeleteGood China doesn't let us play in its economy we shouldn't let the genocidal clowns play in ours
ReplyDeleteChina has no reason to complain. They’ve been banning hundreds of legitimate US and non-US websites for years out of so-called security concerns. What’s good for the goose…
ReplyDeleteTikTok is brain cancer but it’s alarming that this was the priority.
ReplyDeleteI also think lawmakers are being incredibly disingenuous. You can’t insist TikTok is a security risk while politicians are on it every goddamn day posting their bullshit.
a foreign psy-op social media app can also have some value, which is why it should be domestically owned lmao like this bill legislates, so we can leave the bad and utilize the good parts of it.
DeleteMy only issue is why was this able to go through so quickly and easily but we're still debating on what counts as human rights to certain humans.
ReplyDeleteWhy aren’t they as worried about Meta? They sold our information to Russia for a profit and to our detriment. Why is the targeted to only one company?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances the SCOTUS strikes this down for freedom of expression violation? Other platforms like fb, reddit, twitter, youtube already filled with russian propaganda/bots. I mean tiktok has blatant pro ccp content but most can be seen a mile away.
ReplyDeleteProbably not? Iirc, the US did a similar thing forcing the app Grindr to divest from Chinese ownership.
DeleteGoodbye garbage app
ReplyDeleteHave fun in your shithole state elliot2
DeleteA bunch of stuff was passed together along with it, including FISA section 702 spy program (because it's only OK if we illegally surveil people). And then there was the billions in military aid to Israel and Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why you're getting downvoted. Probably all Meta's bots
DeleteGo figure, mike johnson wouldn't move a fucking finger on Ukraine aid if it didn't extensively help the fucking Zionazis and the US surveillance state.
Deletewas this actually in this bill, or was it a separate bill signed a few days ago? i can't find the answer.
DeleteOld people gotta old.
ReplyDeleteIf tiktok actually gets banned there's gonna be a lot of "influencers" getting a hard slap of reality lol.
ReplyDeleteTikTok was never the target of the bill. There is a provision in there to allow the government to monitor devices made in and supported by China.
ReplyDeleteSo, your home cameras, smart home hubs, anything with microphones that is connected to the Internet.
It's a blanket CCP style surveillance bill in violation of the constitution...you know...to protect you from the surveillance state operated by the CCP.
"The government must become the CCP so America won't become like China"
Biden's priorities... Smh
ReplyDeleteThat’s my president 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
DeleteWhich bills went unsigned because he signed this? What work would you have preferred he do in the 27 seconds it took him to sit down, pick up a pen, and write his name?
Delete😂
DeleteYou think this took him 27 seconds. You think he knew what he was signing. At least he can still write his name.
I recall a previous bill signing where he actually asked "what is this?"
At least he ain't sleeping through his criminal defense trial.
DeleteReminds me when Biden was sleeping at the climate summit. You know, the climate that is going to kill us all if it's not reversed in 2 years. One seems a bit more important than the other.
DeleteHow can you criticize his priorities but also claim he isn't aware of what he's doing?
DeleteWe need to break up all big tech. Apple, amazon, google
ReplyDeleteWithout regulating data brokers, this is little more than a facade.
ReplyDeleteWhy is zero action being taken against Meta? They have broken the rules time and time again. They should be forced to split WhatsApp and Insta from FB.
ReplyDeleteStupid ass law.
ReplyDeleteThe people who talk about China spying on US citizens have no problem with our own corporations spying on us for profit. This law is purely a ploy to get the non-US controlled social media company into the hands of our own oligarchs to profit from us.
US Corporations don't have a reason to promote the downfall of the US. China is fairly hostile to US interests and requires their companies to fall in line with Chinese interests. There's a reason they ban TikTok in their own country and have their own version that aligns with Chinese interests.
Deleteplease please please please please please please please please please please please please please
ReplyDeleteban it outright
META will be rubbing their hands together. Every post will cost money as soon as there’s no competition
ReplyDeleteEat shit ccp
ReplyDeleteUS is scared that it can't compete. Free market is a farce lmao
ReplyDeleteThe PTB can't let regular people have the ability to be heard. That is the real reason for this.
ReplyDeleteNow is the time for elon to bring back vine since he owns twitter.
ReplyDelete